


Ability Unlocked: Existential Crisis

by Lenni51074



Series: To The Moon And Back [6]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Everyone Needs A Hug, F/M, Fluff, Fluff & Stuff, Gen, Idiots in Love, Implied Smut, Keith needs a hug, Life-bonds, Mostly Canon Compliant, Not everyone has a happy ending, Sarcasm is also how you flirt, Sarcasm is how you hug, friends to the end, i'm not crying, you're crying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:15:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 36,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24430414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lenni51074/pseuds/Lenni51074
Summary: Six months have passed since the ro-beast attack on Earth, and the revelation that it was piloted by an Altean is causing Allura a considerable amount of distress. The Paladins and Garrison crew leave Earth in order to continue the liberation of the universe from Galra rule. Along the way, they encounter threats both old and new, as well as new and sometimes unexpected allies.Haggar – who all were shocked to discover was really Zarkon’s Altean wife, Honerva – has located the Altean colony that Lotor created in his quest for unlimited Quintessence, and has convinced the population that Voltron is a threat to their existence. They swear allegiance to her, and vow to destroy Voltron once and for all.Honerva’s quest to reunite with her son and husband threatens the very existence of reality, and the Paladins must make a heartbreaking decision in order to save everything they hold dear.
Relationships: Allura (Voltron) & Reader, Allura/Lance (Voltron), Hunk (Voltron) & Reader, Keith (Voltron)/Reader, Lance (Voltron) & Reader, Pidge | Katie Holt & Reader, Shiro (Voltron) & Reader
Series: To The Moon And Back [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1654015
Comments: 59
Kudos: 79





	1. The Sunshine of My Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the Voltron Coalition prepare to take the war against the Galra into space, the team spends a few last precious hours on Earth. Hunk discovers a highly inaccurate televised version of the team; Lance decides it’s time to tell Allura how he feels about her; and Keith finally works up the courage to ask you to share something with him that he’s dreamed of since one of the team’s earliest missions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is based on the events of Series 8, Episode 1 “Launch Date”

You were sitting beside Lance in the Garrison kitchen as he listlessly stirred his cup of caf. He’d mindlessly added six sugars to it, and you knew you would struggle to contain your laughter if he ever actually took a sip and discovered what he’d done.

Hunk said a cheerful but slightly teary goodbye to his parents, now safe from the horrors of the Galra labour camp. He stood in the kitchen holding the precious box of family recipes his mother had given him, as well as a warm loaf of banana cake. It smelled delicious, and he couldn’t wait to share it with you.

“Launching tomorrow,” he said as he sat down opposite Lance. “The big day. Oh, it seems like it was forever ago that we piloted the Blue Lion and blasted out into space. Man, we had no idea what we were getting into!”

“Yeah,” was Lance’s unenthusiastic response.

“But now it’s different,” Hunk continued, as if Lance hadn’t said anything. “We’ve seen it all. We’re rugged veterans now, going back into battle one last time.”  
  
“Yep.” Lance continued to stir his caf, staring despondently at a spot on the table.

“Guess that makes us heroes or somethin’?” Hunk prodded, hoping for more than a monosyllabic answer. “Like the kind of heroes that would have their own TV show!”

You snorted. “Oh, good grief, you actually watched that travesty?”

“Yes! Did you watch it, Lance? Oh, it’s so cool! They got you spot on, but Coran is like, he’s all super serious and stuff. And Allura’s a little… different. And Keith is _friendly!_ Ha ha ha! He’s happy all the time! I mean, they got it _so_ wrong.”

“Hey, at least Keith’s in it. They left me out completely,” you humphed. Clearly six Paladins in five Lions did not equal great television.

Hunk tutted in sympathy. “Yeah, that’s rough. Especially because they’re hinting at some romance between him and Allura…”

 _That_ caught Lance’s attention. He stood up and banged both fists on the table. “ _What?_ Keith and Allura? No! It should be _Lance_ and Allura!”

“Oooh, a love triangle,” Hunk grinned. “I like where you’re taking this.”

“There is no _love triangle_ , because Keith is already life-bonded to _me_ , thank you very much! But let’s not let facts get in the way or anything,” you said testily, scowling even harder when Hunk turned his grin to you.

“Yeah, probably more like a love square if you’re involved, Y/N. Although I’m not exactly sure that’s what a love square is…” Hunk pondered.

Lance sat down again with a sad thump. “No, it’s not about that.”

Hunk’s eyes widened. “Oh, that’s right! You said you were gonna ask Allura on a date! You asked her, didn’t you? And she said no! Aw, man, and here I am, rubbing your face in it.”

“Hunk, shut up!” you hissed, noting the hurt on Lance’s face.

“She didn’t say no,” Lance said. “I… well, I never asked her.”

Hunk stared at Lance, unable to believe what he was hearing. “You chickened out?”

“I was _going_ to ask her, but she’s been spending, like, every day in the med bay,” Lance answered wistfully. “Maybe… maybe this just isn’t the right time.”

“No, Lance, what?” exclaimed Hunk. “It’s the _only_ time! After tomorrow, we’re back out in space fighting the Galra. There _is_ no other time. Literally. You’re asking her today, and that is final, young man.”

“Hunk’s right, Pretty Boy,” you told your friend. “If you don’t ask Allura now, you might miss your chance. Trust me, you don’t want that to happen.”

“It’s all right for you to say,” he retorted. “You’ve already got your happy ever after with Mullet.”

An indelicate snort escaped you. “I’m not sure I’d say it’s a fairytale ending for me and Keith. We’ve had a lot of bumps along the way, and we still say or do the wrong thing a lot of the time. But I’m telling you, if you don’t ask Allura, it will be too late, and you are going to regret it forever. I’m pretty sure even Keith would tell you to grow a pair and ask her.”

Lance sighed, wondering if he would ever find the courage to tell the princess how he really felt after all this time.

**************************************

“Everyone, welcome to our final briefing here on Earth,” Shiro addressed everyone. Garrison crew, members of the Voltron Coalition, and many others were crowded into the control room for the mission briefing. “It’s been several months since we began to rebuild, and tomorrow we launch and continue our liberation efforts across all planets still under Galra rule. Commander Holt, what’s the latest from your team?”

Sam replied, “We’ve confirmed that there’s still no Galra activity in several galaxies of the Milky Way. It appears Earth was Sendak’s only target.”

Shiro turned to Keith. “Where are we with Earth’s defences?”

“I’ve finished my check-in with all the Garrison facilities around the globe,” the Red Paladin reported. “All defences are up and running. Earth has everything in place to keep itself safe.”  
  
“Great.” Turning to Veronica, Shiro asked, “And Atlas preparations?”

Lance’s sister said, “Repairs to the IGF-Atlas were completed early last week and it has since passed every test protocol we’ve put it through.”

Shiro nodded. “Good. Any updates on the Altean pilot?”

Allura shook her head. “Still unresponsive. But she could wake any day now. Perhaps if we had a little more time, we could find out who sent her.”

“There’s no way to know when or if she’ll regain consciousness,” Keith told her. “We can’t wait any longer. We need to get back out there and end this war before the Galra can reorganise.”

“Keith’s right,” Shiro agreed. “We’ll be in constant communication with Earth. When the Altean wakes up, we’ll know.”

Addressing the entire room once more, Shiro continued. “I have one more item to discuss. It’s our last night on Earth, and we’ve got a lot of hard work ahead of us. We may not be back home for years. So I’m ordering you…”

He paused, before smiling at everyone. “… to take some time for yourselves. Be with the ones you love. You’ve earned it.”

*************************************

You turned to your partner as the two of you left the conference room, eager to make the most of your last few hours on Earth. “So, what are we going to do? Throw things at James? Make fun of Coran’s moustache? Try yet again to defeat Pidge at _Killbot Phantasm 25_?”

Keith’s eyes lit up as he grabbed your hand. “Come with me.”  
  
You had to practically run to keep up with Keith’s impatient stride as he dragged you along behind him. “Keith, where are we going?”

“There’s something I’ve wanted to do for a while now.” He wouldn’t give you any further explanation, ignoring your protests that you weren’t going to take another step unless he told you what was going on.

Finally, you found yourself standing in front of the Black Lion. You stared at him, your puzzlement increasing. “Keith, why on Earth have you brought me here? What is so important that you needed to drag me out to the Black Lion?”  
  
He held both of your hands in his, staring into your eyes intently. “Y/N, I want to… I…”

Keith took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart. “Ever since that day on the Balmera, when you were all moony-eyed over Hunk and Shay watching the sunrise together, I…”

You tilted your head as he continued to falter. Caressing his scarred cheek softly, you sent him a wave of reassurance through your life-bond. “Keith, whatever you’re trying to say, just say it.”

“Well, it’s just… ever since that day, I’ve wanted to watch a sunset with you. From the top of our Lion. I just never found the right time to ask you. Until now.”  
  
Your heart skipped a beat. This beautiful young man, who normally had the emotional range of a small soap dish, had waited years to make what was quite possibly the most romantic declaration you’d ever experienced. On what could quite conceivably be your last day on Earth. Wonders would never cease.

“I know you said you used to enjoy watching sunsets from the rooftop of the Garrison, but I thought we’d have a bit more privacy if we were with Black.” Keith’s gaze turned shy, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “I just want to share this experience with you, and only you.”  
  
“Keith Kogane, you never cease to amaze me,” you whispered as you looped your arms behind his neck. “I never knew you were such a hopeless romantic.”

His face burned even more. “I just… I don’t know when we might ever see another Earth sunset, and I don’t want to regret missing this opportunity. I’ve wanted to do this for a long time, Y/N. So, what do you say?”  
  
You pulled his face towards you, planting a lingering kiss on his lips. When you finally broke away, you caressed his cheek again. “I would be honoured to watch a sunset with you, Keith. Especially from the top of the Black Lion. _Our_ Lion.”

Keith’s heart soared, and he scooped you up into his arms, making you laugh as he carried you bridal style towards Black. He felt the hum of approval from the Lion, and knew that no matter what else happened, tonight Black was just as happy to have both of you alone as he was.

**************************************

You sat in front of Keith as he relaxed with his arms around you and his chin resting atop your shoulder. Kosmo snoozed beside you, snoring softly. The two of you sat in silence, enjoying each other’s company as you watched the sun disappearing over the horizon.

“So, how’s the view?” Keith asked softly.

“It’s amazing. It’s even better than when I used to watch it from the Garrison roof. Much more… intimate.” You and Keith grinned, remembering the description he’d used when the two of you had witnessed Hunk and Shay sharing a sunrise over the Balmera all those years ago.

“It is pretty nice up here,” Keith admitted, tightening his arms around you. “I can see why you like watching the sun go down.”

“This has always been my favourite time of day.” You smiled at him. “Thank you for doing this for me.”  
  
“I’d do anything for you, Y/N. I love you.” Keith looked at you, silently asking for permission, which you eagerly granted. He dipped his head, capturing your lips with his, and the two of you ignored everything but the sensation of the kiss.

Until you were interrupted.

“You know, the two of you can be really hard to find when you want to be.”

You and Keith turned at the sound of Lance’s voice, and did a double-take when you saw him. Keith looked absolutely thunderstruck, while you had the horrible urge to laugh uncontrollably.

“Woah! _What_ are you wearing?” Keith demanded.

Lance was dressed in what you sincerely hoped was a fancy dress costume, because otherwise you had no idea why on earth he was walking around with a cape tied around his neck, what looked suspiciously like a bucket on his head, and a string of sausages around his neck. Kosmo woke and sniffed the air appreciatively, obviously hoping that a sausage or two might find their way into his jaws.

Lance made a sound of disgust. “Ugh. Coran made it for me for my date with Allura.”

Keith’s eyebrows shot up, before a grin covered his face. “A date? With Allura? Wow. Well done, Lance.”

You hugged your friend enthusiastically. “Oh, I’m so glad you finally asked her! I’ve been so sick of watching you pine over her all this time. I’m sure your date is going to be wonderful.”

“Thanks, but it could be our last,” he sighed. “I can’t keep all these Altean customs straight.”

Keith quirked an eyebrow. “Listen, if she’s going out with you, it’s because she likes you. The annoying, stupid, Earth version of you.”

Before you could admonish Keith for insulting him, Lance started laughing. For some reason, Keith’s ‘pep talk’ had made him feel a lot better. “You watching the sunset?”

“Yeah,” Keith said, wrapping his arms around your waist once more. “Might be a while before we get to see it again.”

“Man, I’m really gonna miss this place,” Lance whispered. You held his hand, squeezing it gently, and he gave you a soft smile.

Keith nodded. “That’s why we’ve gotta end this war. And we’re gonna do it with the Lance that’s the Paladin of the Red Lion. The Lance that’s always got my back, and the Lance who knows exactly who he is, and what he’s got to offer.”

Lance seemed surprise, but returned Keith’s smile with a shy one of his own.

 _‘Wow, Keith. That was the most beautiful thing you’ve ever said.’_ You pressed a kiss to his cheek. _‘I think I’m jealous.’_

_‘Yeah, you should be. Lance is definitely a lot cuter than you are.’_

_‘Jerk. Remind me why I love you again?’_

Keith grinned at you. _‘Because I’ve got the good sense to love you back.’_

_‘Good answer.’_

The two of you stayed cuddled up to one another as Lance took his leave, finally mentally ready to prepare himself for his date with Allura.

“I hope Lance finds the courage to tell Allura how he feels about her,” you said. “He’s been in love with her for so long.”

“I just always thought he was doing his usual flirting thing,” Keith admitted. “I never realised he was actually serious.”

You shook your head. “I know Lance better than just about anyone. He’s never felt this way about any other girl before. He’s all talk. It’s different with Allura. He genuinely cares about her in a way that I’ve never seen before.”

Keith pressed a kiss to your forehead. “Well, if you say so, then it must be true. I just never thought I’d see the day when Lance and Allura actually went on a date.”

“Stranger things have happened,” you said.

“Yeah, like flying to the far reaches of the universe in a giant alien robot Lion.”

“Or drinking Nunvill and watching that hysterical Arusian apology dance,” you laughed.

“Or finding out that I was life-bonded to the girl that I always thought hated me,” he said softly, pushing a lock of hair behind your ear. “Only to discover that, really, she loves me just as much as I love her.”

“Yeah,” you said with a blush. “What a weirdo.”

Keith snorted. “But she’s _my_ weirdo, and I wouldn’t have her any other way.”

“Good, because you’re kind of stuck with her, whether you like it or not.” You kissed him, and the two of you didn’t think about anything else until long after the sun had gone down.

**************************************

You pressed Lance for details of his date after he and Allura had returned to the base. He told you, cheeks burning, that he’d been embarrassed by his family telling numerous stories of all the stupid things he’d done growing up. You’d laughed practically non-stop, until he mentioned that Veronica had asked him to set her up with his ‘long-haired friend’. It was his turn to grin as you’d spluttered with indignation, forgetting that Veronica hadn’t been made aware of the exact nature of your relationship with the Red Paladin.

Lance had admitted to Allura of his love for her, and they had kissed. You squealed with excitement when he told you this, and he showed you the photo of the two of them that the little droid, Beezer, had taken.

“I’m so happy for you, Lance,” you said. “It seems like Allura cares about you just as much as you do her.”

“I hope so, Y/N,” he replied. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. She’s so special.”

“I know, sweetie.” You gave him another hug. “Now scram. Keith will be back soon and we’re planning on watching slasher flicks until the sun comes up.”

Lance had a fear of horror movies, so he bid you goodnight and beat a hasty retreat.

“Slasher films, huh?” Keith asked sarcastically, leaning against the doorway of your bedroom. He’d stayed hidden in there while you were talking with Lance, knowing that the Blue Paladin would be more forthcoming about the details of his date with the princess if he thought you were alone. Keith was an unabashed snoop.

You walked up to him, wrapping your arms around his waist. “It was the best I could come up with at short notice. Lance hates them, so I knew he’d find an excuse to leave.”

“I’m pretty sure I can think of something better to do with our time than watch horror movies,” Keith said, nuzzling your neck.

You hummed. “Well, I _do_ need to reorganise my sock drawer…”

“Not exactly what I had in mind, babe.”

“You want me to reorganise _your_ sock drawer?” you asked innocently.

Your life-bonded partner dragged you into the bedroom and proceeded to demonstrate just exactly what he intended to do with the time you had left on Earth.

It didn’t involve socks.

**************************************

The crowd gathered to farewell the crews of the Voltron Coalition and the Atlas was enormous. It seemed as if every civilian within a hundred-mile radius was in attendance. The Lions sat proudly in front of the Atlas, dwarfed by the enormous ship.

The Paladins stood proudly in their new uniforms. They were the same design as the Garrison Cadet uniforms, but instead of the standard-issue orange, they had been made in your Paladin colours. Your mother had told you that your soft, dove-grey jacket suited you much better than the Garrison uniform.

Sam Holt stepped forward to address the crowd. “This will be perhaps the most defining moment in our history. The day humankind reaches beyond its own world to help the immense universe of which we inhabit such a small part.”

Keith’s voice was strong. “In the blink of an eye, the world as we knew it became much larger than we ever thought possible. And now we rise up to join the fight alongside so many others different from us, but of like minds. To stand firm in the face of tyranny.”

You didn’t know who was prouder of him - you, Krolia or Kolivan.

“For all deserve to decide their own future, as we have decided to spend ours,” Allura spoke. “Ensuring the freedom of the universe.”  
  
Shiro took over for the final part of the speech. “Each and every one of you has given something to this fight. Many have been lost, but not in vain, because through their sacrifice many more will live on. I make you this promise now. We will return, triumphant.”

Your parents hugged you as you prepared to board the Atlas. They would be in charge of the Garrison, directing the fight from Earth. “Stay safe, Y/N. We love you.”

“I love you, too.” You kissed them both goodbye before hastily boarding so they wouldn’t see your tears.

The crowd cheered as the Atlas took off, and all of you took one last look at the Earth, wondering how long it would be before you saw it again.

If ever.


	2. Wait, So Who Are The Bad Guys Now?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After taking control of a Galra base on a dark planet, the Paladins follow a distress signal from a missing fleet and make an unsettling discovery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is set during Series 8 Episode 3 “The Prisoner’s Dilemma”

Keith’s face popped up on the vid-screen of the Galra base. “This is the Voltron Coalition. Lay down your arms and…”

“Open fire!” screamed the Galra commander. The base below began firing its ion cannons at the Lions, and they dodged as the Atlas activated the particle barrier.

“Well, that didn’t take long!” Lance noted cheerfully.

“He didn’t even wait to hear the rest of Keith’s threat,” you added facetiously. “He just went straight to the fun stuff.”

“Fighters launching,” Hunk warned. “Six o’clock low.”

The fighters headed toward you, and Keith reminded everyone of the plan. “Remember, shoot them down if needed, but try to avoid collateral damage on the ground.”

The Atlas fired on the base below, giving the Lions some breathing space. The MFE fighters were launched, ready to provide assistance as necessary.

“Alright team, we’ve got to clear a path for the rebel ships,” said Shiro. “Let’s move!”

The MFE’s banked left, drawing the ground fire away from the fleet of rebel ships moving in. Matt Holt, Nyma and another rebel fighter jumped out at the drop zone without incident.

Once Keith saw they were clear, he called another order. “Paladins! Let’s take out their reinforcements.”

Each Lion attacked a different part of the base, using the weapons unique to each of them. A significant portion of the fleet was destroyed.

The rebels confirmed that the pulse emitters had been set, and the subsequent explosion had taken down the entire power network of the base. Only emergency generators remained operable.

Without warning, laser fire rained down from the sky above the Atlas, but there was no obvious ship that was attacking. The Atlas once again deployed the particle barrier to shield them from the worst of the lasers.

“Does anyone have eyes on where these lasers are coming from?” Shiro demanded.

Pidge replied, “I’m not seeing anything on my scanners. Trying to locate point of origin now.”

“I’m on it.” Allura activated Blue’s sonic scanner. She soon found what she was searching for. “I’ve got visual on two cloaked cannon satellites!”

“How did we miss those?” asked Hunk.

“It looks like we wormholed right past them,” Pidge advised.

“Plus, Allura said they were cloaked,” you mentioned.

Keith growled. “Paladins, on me. Form Voltron!”

Voltron came together and headed towards the cloaked satellites. Both Keith and Lance activated their Bayards together, forming the giant booster wings and enabling Voltron to reach them much more quickly. The robot sliced through the satellites easily with its giant blade, the resulting explosions leaving you all quite satisfied.

“Great job making quick work of the satellites, Paladins,” Shiro congratulated you. “We’ve successfully gained control of the base.”

**************************************

The Coalition landed on the grounds of the base, and surprised the overrun Galra by treating their wounds and providing them with food and drink. It was not how they expected prisoners of war to be treated, and they found it more than a little confusing.

Shiro, Matt and the Paladins walked onto the bridge of the main building, where the MFE pilots were standing guard over a large Galra. Griffin pointed with his rifle. “This one says he’s the leader.”

The Galra turned, and he looked familiar. You wondered where you had seen him before.

Hunk ran forward with a smile on his face. “Woah! Holy Kaltenecker, what are you doing here? It’s me, Hunk, remember? Paladin of the Yellow Lion? We worked together?”

The Galra seemed unimpressed. “I remember.”

“Wait, you know this guy?” Keith asked, walking up to Hunk.

“Yeah, from the Omega Shield,” Hunk said, before remembering that Keith had not been on that mission. “Oh, that’s right, you were on a space road trip with your mom. Keith, this is our friend, Lieutenant Lahn.”

“It’s _Warlord_ Lahn now,” the Galra snarled. “And you and I are not friends.”

“Oh, okay.” Hunk’s face fell. “I guess I just thought we bonded together by working as a team to fix the Omega Shield and save your planet. You know, a Galra-occupied planet, no less. We saved it. It’s cool. No big deal.”

“Sendak only attacked the Omega Shield _after_ we pledged loyalty to Voltron,” Lahn told him. “Then you disappeared and left us vulnerable to more attacks. I vowed to never let that happen again.”

“It was not our intention to be gone for so long,” Allura said. “But we’re here now.”  
  
Lahn sneered. “To claim victory over us?”  
  
The princess seemed shocked. “No!”

Shiro stepped forward. “We didn’t come here to argue. Warlord Lahn, we’re asking you to join the Voltron Coalition, to help provide stability to the universe.”

“What’s the alternative?” Lahn asked.

Shiro’s gaze was unwavering. “If you want peace, if you want to end this war, there can be no alternative.”

“You’ve attained victory, and I accept defeat,” Lahn snarled.

“It doesn’t have to be victory or death,” Keith cried with exasperation. “I know it’s the Galra way, but…”

“And what do _you_ know of the Galra?” hissed Lahn.

Keith scowled. “My mother is Galra. She’s a member of the Blade of Marmora. So am I.”

“The mutinous Blades have all but perished,” Lahn replied. “Are they so diminished in numbers that they’re forced to enlist a half-breed and his mommy?”

You had finally had enough of the insults hurled at your team by the self-proclaimed warlord. “Ignore him, Keith. Clearly, this one is too pathetic to be of any use to us.”

Pidge’s voice interrupted any further unpleasantness. “Guys, I’m getting an incoming communication.”

“Patch it through,” Shiro instructed.

A voice repeated several words in Galra, over and over. It sounded like a recording.

**[Yordum Berring Exus. Yordum Berring Exus]**

Lahn said, “It’s an emergency protocol built into the sentries when they’re under distress. Has your Voltron Coalition attacked them as well?”

“No,” Keith assured him. “We didn’t.”

Shiro turned back to the Green Paladin. “Pidge, see if you can reopen the hailing frequency.”

She typed at the console. “I’m trying, but no response. I’m locating the transmission’s origin, but the EMP’s we set off have done a number on the communication systems.”

Suddenly, Pidge gasped and the image of a Galra warship appeared on the screen. “We got a comm signature. Do you recognise this ship?”

“Yes, it’s Klytax-V3,” Lahn responded. “It’s one of the fifteen ships I sent on an assignment six phoebs ago. They all disappeared. We assumed them dead.”

“It looks like they’re not dead, after all,” Keith muttered. “We need to get out there. Shiro, how long before the Atlas is ready to launch again?”

“Hours,” Shiro informed him. “We still need to process all the Galra and prepare the planet to continue operating on its own. This is our mission. We need to see this through.”

Keith nodded. “Then Voltron will go.”

Lahn stared at him incredulously. “ _Voltron_ is going to save the Galra? My fleet would never believe Voltron was there to help. They’d fight you until their last breath.”

“That’s why you’re coming with us,” Keith told him.

“You’re going to convince them that we’re on your side, or else,” you said sweetly to the Galra. “Looks like you’re going to be useful after all.”

**************************************

Voltron flew towards the stricken Galra vessel. Warlord Lahn had become extremely compliant once he was aboard the Black Lion. You suspected this had a lot to do with the fact that Kosmo stood in front of him, teeth bared as he snarled menacingly.

“What was this fleet’s mission when they left?” asked Keith conversationally.

“They were out gathering munitions,” Lahn answered straight away.

“Weapons?” you asked. “Were you buying or stealing them?”

“The Galra Empire is at war with itself,” Lahn told you. “We have to do what we can to survive. But if you _must_ know, they were salvaging weapons from an abandoned Galra base.”

Pidge’s voice piped up. “I have visual.”

Voltron came to a halt in front of the Galra ship, drifting helplessly in a massive field of debris.

“Everyone, stay alert,” warned Keith.

“What happened here?” asked Lance quietly.

“Uh, Warlord Lahn,” Hunk said, almost apologetically. “Didn’t you say there were _fifteen_ cruisers? Where are the rest of them?”

“It’s looks like it was a massacre,” you said softly, staring out at the twisted metal wreckage floating around you.

Pidge checked her scanners. “I’m not detecting any signs of life or biorhythms on the closest two ships, but there are some signals coming from the ship at the end.”

“That’s Klytax-V3, where the call came from,” Lahn replied.

Keith opened up a communication channel. “Hailing Galra cruiser Klytax-V3. This is Keith, Paladin of the Black Lion of Voltron. Do you copy?”

The only response was the scratch of static.

“This is Warlord Lahn, your Commander,” said the Galra in an imperious tone. “Do you copy?”

You heard the same signal that you’d picked up on the base. Those same three words, uttered over and over.

**[Yordum Berring Exus. Yordum Berring Exus.]**

Keith frowned. “Whoever’s in there, we need to find them and get them out.”

“If I can access the ship’s security network, we should be able to find out what happened here,” Pidge said.

Voltron separated, each Lion landing on the surface of the ship.

Despite your reservations, Keith undid the handcuffs keeping Lahn in check. “Paladins - Lahn, Y/N and I are going to head in first to make sure the entry point is safe. You guys jetpack in behind us.”

Kosmo followed at your signal. “Stay close, boy. Let’s make sure he doesn’t try anything to double-cross us.”

**************************************

Kosmo popped the three of you into the hold of the Galra ship. It was eerily silent. Crates and containers floated in zero gravity, but there didn’t seem to be any sign of life aboard.

Keith scanned the area. “We’re all clear. Lahn, open the airlock doors.”

Lahn complied, and the other Paladins jetpacked in. As they joined you, Keith turned to the Green Paladin. “Pidge, are you picking up any signals?”

“There are multiple biorhythms, but they’re intermittent, almost random,” she said, checking her wrist scanner. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

“Okay, we’ll need to split up to find any survivors.” Keith looked at each of you in turn. “Hunk and Lance, clear the aft of the ship. Y/N and I will take the bow and work our way toward you. Pidge and Allura, take Lahn to go through the security logs. Find out what happened here.”

The Galra scowled down at Keith. “I don’t like taking orders on my own ship.”

“Duly noted,” Keith replied coolly, then ignored him as he turned to inspect the front of the ship.

Lahn had no choice but to do as Keith had requested.

**************************************

You and Keith made your way towards the bow of the ship, trying to ignore the scattered pieces of the sentries floating past you.

It was dark and silent. There was no sign of life that you could see.

“Nobody’s here,” Keith said softly, as Kosmo popped up between you.

“I don’t know whether I’m relieved about that, or worried,” you admitted.

“Me, neither.”

The two of you turned around, preparing to make your way back towards Lance and Hunk.

**************************************

“What could have done this?” Keith wondered as he stared at the massive hole torn in the middle of the ship.

You heard a thumping sound behind you, and turned hesitantly in the direction of the sound. “Hopefully it wasn’t whatever is making that noise.”

The two of you peeked tentatively around the corner, gasping in surprise. There, caught between the doors, was a Galra sentry. The banging sound was caused by its attempts to free itself from its trap.

Before you could move towards it, you heard Pidge’s voice in your helmet comms. “Guys, be on the lookout for a giant deadly monster!”

“We believe it’s what attacked the crew,” Allura added. “Avoid at all costs.”

“Lance, Hunk, do you copy?” Pidge asked.

There was no reply, save for a loud roaring sound. You turned to Keith. “What’s the bet Lance and Hunk just found the monster?”

His face was grim. “Or the monster found them.”

“Keith, Y/N, we just contacted Lance and Hunk,” Pidge said. “They saw something! Be advised…”

The transmission cut off in a burst of static.

“Pidge? Pidge, are you there?” you called, trying to re-establish communication.

“Come on, let’s head back to the others,” Keith suggested, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up.

As the two of you headed back towards the others, Kosmo began growling. Keith held out his katana. “Hello?”

**[… are you?]** a sentry intoned as you floated past it. **[What are you?]**

“My name is Keith, the leader of Voltron, Paladin of the Black Lion,” answered Keith. “This is Y/N, a fellow Paladin.”

“Wait,” you interrupted. You chanted the three Galra words that you had heard repeated in the distress call. “Yordum Berring Exus. Is that you?”

**[Where are the rest of the Galra?]**

“They’re still on planet Ryker,” Keith responded. “Why?”

**[Planet Ryker.]**

The sentry was flung aside, and a huge eyeless beast lunged in your direction. You screamed as Keith slashed at it with his katana. The creature screeched, and Keith grabbed your hand as the two of you jetpacked away.

You screamed again as the creature sent a blast of laser fire from its mouth, missing you by mere inches. It fired again, and Kosmo teleported out of the way with you, but Keith was hit in his shield by the blast, crying out in pain as he was flung against a wall.

He ducked out of the way as the creature fired again, and stared in horror at the hole that had been melted in the wall behind him. He slashed at the monster with his katana, and was shocked when it teleported out of the way. Just as the creature was about to blast him again, Kosmo returned. Keith grabbed his fur and the wolf teleported him to safety in the nick of time.

**************************************

“Keith and I were in communication right before we got disconnected,” Pidge said just as you popped onto the bridge with Kosmo. The wolf disappeared almost instantly, and you tried to calm your racing heart.

“It must have been that thing,” Pidge continued, turning to Lance and Hunk. “You said you saw it, right?”

“Oh, yeah! Face to horrifying face!” Lance’s voice was several octaves higher than usual.

"I saw it too. It's out of control," you whispered hoarsely, still too shaken to speak clearly.

“We just watched that thing take out one of my men in an instant,” Lahn said dismissively. “How did you three manage to escape unscathed?”

Before either you or Lance could answer, the ship shuddered violently.

“What’s happening now?” Hunk asked in a scared voice.

Pidge stared at the screen, unable to believe what she was seeing. “The ship’s moving. And it’s headed towards Lahn’s base!”

Kosmo popped onto the ship’s bridge with Keith, and you grabbed onto him, sobbing with relief. The adrenaline was still rushing through you, and you were more than slightly hysterical at what you’d just encountered.

“Oh, Keith, good, you’re here!” cried Hunk. “There’s a monster on the ship!”

Keith ignored him, untangling himself from you and heading straight to Lahn. “The base you sent this fleet to plunder. Was it Warlord Ranveig’s?”

“Yes, it was,” Lahn admitted.

“Unbelievable,” Keith muttered.

Allura asked, “Keith, what’s going on?”

“The creature on this ship is a super-weapon designed to destroy the Galra, and only Galra.”

“Warlord Ranveig would never create such a thing!” Lahn objected.

Keith turned to him. “Ranveig found the creature in the Quantum Abyss and experimented on it with Lotor’s Quintessence. He trained it to take out his Galra enemies, but he could never control it. The beast couldn’t differentiate between adversaries and allies.”

“Wait,” Lance said. “How do you know so much about this super weapon monster thingy?”

“Because Krolia and I let it loose so we could escape Ranveig’s base,” Keith said quietly. “This is all my fault. I’m sorry.”

“And we told it exactly where to find Lahn’s troops,” you whispered, remembering how Keith had answered what he thought were the sentry’s questions.

Lahn’s eyes narrowed. “It’s what you’ve wanted from the beginning. Something to get rid of the Galra for you.”

“I don’t know what it’s going to take to get it through your thick skull, but we’re not your enemy!” Lance yelled.

Keith’s brow creased in concentration. “Pidge, can you initiate the self-destruct protocol? We need to destroy this ship, and the monster along with it. And we need to do it immediately.”

The tiny teen nodded. “Okay, I’m on it. Once I initiate it, we’ll have two doboshes to exit the ship.”

“Two hours? Isn’t that too long?” queried Lance.

Everyone turned to him and corrected him simultaneously. “Minutes.”

“What? That’s not enough time!”

Pidge activated the self-destruct sequence. “Let’s move!”

Your exit was halted, however, by the monster appearing on the bridge in front of you. It held out the head of a sentry.

**[All Galra must perish.]**

The monster pounced at Lahn, but Allura used her Bayard whip to pull him to safety.

Kosmo leapt at the creature, who grabbed the wolf, causing him to yelp in pain. Lance fired his rifle, but the creature blasted back with the laser from its mouth.

All of you made your way towards escape, but the door closed behind you just as Keith and Lahn reached it, trapping them on the other side with the creature.

“Keith!” you yelled, slamming your fist on the door. “Keith!”

“Pidge, how much time before the ship explodes?” Lance demanded.

“Sixty ticks.”

“We’ve gotta get them out of there,” Hunk said.

Pidge tapped on her wrist scanner. “This should do it.”

The door opened an inch, before slamming shut again. Pidge hissed indignantly, “That thing overrode my protocol!”

“We have to get Keith out of there!” you shrieked, still trying frantically to open the door. “He’s half-Galra! That creature is going to kill him!”

“We can take it down with our Bayards,” Lance said confidently. He tapped the helmet comms. “Keith, we’re coming for you!”

“Stand away from the door!” Hunk added.

Keith did as instructed, slashing at the monster as he moved out of the way. It teleported to the far side of the bridge, then aimed its mouth laser at Lahn. Keith pushed him out of the way and absorbed the impact of the blast with his shield, but was pushed backward into the door, colliding with a loud thump.

The creature lunged again, and Lahn clenched his fists. “Victory or death!”

Keith, tired of the Galra way of resolving problems, pushed Lahn behind him once more and held his Bayard out in front of him. To his surprise, instead of his katana, the Bayard transformed itself into a cannon, not too dissimilar to Hunk’s. He fired, blasting the creature backward until the blast melted a hole in the metal console, and the monster was pushed far into the belly of the ship.

He turned to Lahn and asked sarcastically, “Do you trust me yet?”

He ignored the Galra’s glare as he contacted the rest of you. “Paladins, clear the hallway! We’re coming through!”

Keith blasted the door open with his newly acquired cannon. He sped past you, dragging Lahn behind him. “Let’s go!”

The rest of you didn’t hesitate to follow. You grabbed hold of the injured Kosmo and carried him as you flew after Keith.

Pidge checked her timer. “Ten ticks!”

“The cargo bay where we entered is the nearest exit point!” Allura called.

You heard a growl behind you, and glanced backward, only to find the creature chasing after you.

“Five ticks!” called Pidge, as the door to the cargo bay seemed to be still too far away. “We’ll never make it!”

Keith fired his cannon once more, blasting an enormous hole in the ship’s hull. All of you were sucked out into space, but before the creature could follow, a large container was sucked toward the hole, blocking the exit.

You escaped just as the ship exploded, your Lions coming to your rescue as everyone hurtled head over tail through space.

The Lions flew back towards Planet Ryker in silence.

**************************************

“The Galra Empire may be decimated, but its warriors are still needed to maintain stability,” Lahn’s voice echoed through the base. “Twice the Paladins of Voltron have risked their lives for me, and yet I questioned their intent. I was wrong. I pledge loyalty to a united front with the Voltron Coalition. And I encourage you all to do the same.”

The Paladins stood behind Lahn, smiling at the Galra Warlord’s change of heart. It appeared that Keith’s willingness to die for him had opened his eyes to a new interpretation of “Victory or death.”

**************************************

“I downloaded some intel from that cruiser,” Pidge reported as you stood on the bridge of the Atlas. “There might be another one of Honerva’s beasts out there.”

Lance’s jaw dropped. “Another one?”

“This is just what I feared,” Allura fretted. “Shiro, we need to adjust our mission’s objective and track down where these things are coming from.”

Shiro turned to Pidge. “How certain are you that it’s a ro-beast?”

The diminutive Paladin shrugged. “I’m not positive, but according to the message logs, some Galra have spotted a giant robotic mech that fits the description. The logs even refer to a similar weapon.”

“There may be another Altean piloting it,” said Allura. “We _must_ investigate.”

“Thousands of innocent souls are waiting to be liberated from what remains of the Galra Empire,” Shiro reminded the princess. “We can’t just change course.”

“Maybe you don’t have to,” Keith interjected, and all eyes turned to him.

Shiro frowned. “Keith, what are you saying?”

“We’ll split up. The Atlas will continue working with the Galra, while Voltron searches for Honerva and her beasts.”

“You’ll be out there on your own,” Shiro pointed out. “Without backup.”

Keith smiled. “We’ll be okay. Voltron is stronger now, more than ever.”

The rest of the Paladins smiled confidently, in agreement with the team leader. This was your new mission, and you would see it through.

Together.


	3. Dust In The Wind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While floating through the universe searching for signs of a ro-beast, the Paladins head toward Olkarion and realise they aren’t alone on their journey. Hunk and Keith recognise the new arrival, but while Hunk seems pleased to see it, the Red Paladin is rather underwhelmed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter based on Series 8 Episode 4 “Battle Scars”

The Lions were flying in formation, making their way slowly through the solar system.

Hunk yawned. “Okay, that’s the third star system we checked in the last eleven days and we still haven’t found a single clue about any ro-beasts.”

“Actually, that was the _eleventh_ star system in the last _three_ days,” Pidge corrected him.

“Was it really? Oh my gosh. See, I’m so worn out I can’t even… you know…”

“Uh, count?” Lance’s sarcastic retort came through.

Hunk sighed. “No. Think.”

“I know this is not ideal, but the intel we received from the Galra cruiser in Lahn’s fleet identified one of those ro-beasts in this quadrant,” Allura said. “We _must_ find it.”

“Unfortunately, we just don’t know how current that information is,” Keith admitted.

“Also, this celestial quadrant is two hundred and thirty thousand light years in diameter,” you pointed out, checking the star chart.

Hunk groaned. “I can’t even process what that means.”

“Okay, picture five fleas searching for another flea on a dog that’s the size of Earth,” Pidge suggested.

It didn’t appear to help Hunk visualise the scale of the search area. “Ugh. All this talk of fleas is making me itchy. Are you guys feeling itchy?”

“Pidge, why can’t you and Hunk just make a ro-beast tracker thingy?” Lance asked plaintively. “You know, do some math and science stuff, then put some components together and bam! It’s done.”

You snorted. “It’s a good thing we don’t get you to design our tech, Pretty Boy.”

Allura’s voice was tentative. “Perhaps we should set our heading for the Altean colony.”

Keith thunked his head on the Black Lion’s console, taking a deep breath before he spoke in an overly patient tone. “We talked about this. To get to the colony, we would have to travel through the Quantum Abyss.”

There was no way he wanted to put you – any of you – through that experience. Once was more than enough.

“Plus, Kolivan said the colony no longer exists,” you reminded the princess.

“But there will be clues there,” she protested. “Something to go off of.”

“Travelling through that Abyss was one of the most harrowing experiences of my life,” Keith said, shuddering at the remembrance. “A single misstep could turn a six-month journey into a ten-year journey. The creatures, the environment… Everything in there wants you dead.”

Kosmo whined softly, and Keith smiled as he ruffled the space-wolf’s shaggy fur. “Except you.”

Allura growled, “I’m tired of hearing what we can’t do and what we don’t know!”

“Allura, we just want to make the best decisions,” Lance began diplomatically, but the princess cut him off.

“The Alteans were _my_ people. And the last of them are being exploited in someone else’s war. You don’t understand.”

“I understand what it feels like to see someone I care about hurt so much,” Lance rebuked her.

The princess sighed, feeling ashamed at her outburst. “I’m sorry, Lance.”

There was a brief pause, before Hunk broke the silence. “Okay, maybe we head to Olkarion. We’re just a few galaxies away. They might have some information on any unusual sightings.”

“Hunk’s right,” Keith agreed readily. “Olkarion is a great spot to regroup and re-evaluate our situation.”

“And it’ll be awesome to see everyone again,” Pidge said happily. The diminutive teen had enjoyed her time on the planet previously, enamoured of the nature-based tech and the close bond she had built with the Olkari leader, Ryner. “I wonder what kind of technological advances they’ve made in the last few years. Oh, man, if they figured out a way to untangle the uncertainty principle, new precision calculations could open the doors to a flood of innovations!”

You giggled at her rapturous ramblings, but Lance seemed far less impressed. “I think I understood, like, three of those words. Allura, what do you think?”

The princess’s voice was more sombre than you’d ever heard previously. “Perhaps a trip to Olkarion is best.”

“All right!” Hunk cheered. “Let’s do this!”

Pidge opened up a communication channel. “Hailing Olkarion! Be advised the Paladins of Voltron are en route.”

There was nothing but static. She spoke again. “This is Pidge, hailing Olkarion. Do you copy?”

Still silence.

“Are they not home?” Hunk wondered.

“Probably too busy untangling calculations,” Lance said knowingly, before continuing in a puzzled tone. “Am I using that right?”

“Not even close,” you replied with a laugh.

Pidge said, “I’m guessing there’s a delay due to our distance. We’ll probably receive a reply on the way.”

**************************************

The Lions continued on their path to Olkarion, but eventually Keith lost patience. “Paladins, if we want to get to Olkarion quickly, there’s only one way to do it.”

Everyone flew in formation and formed Voltron. “Engage wings!”

Keith and Lance activated their Bayards together, and Voltron’s enormous rocket-booster wings were summoned. Pushing the thrusters to full capacity, the robot flew through hyperspace until it entered the Olkarion system.

“Welcome to Olkarion’s galactic neighbourhood,” Lance said as the team flew through an asteroid field. “Did we ever hear from them?”

“Actually, no, which is strange,” Pidge replied. “I’ll try and contact them aga… Woah!”

An alarm started beeping as her console showed a hostile ship, and her voice was strained. “We got incoming! Something big is headed our way at an incredible speed.”

“A Galra cruiser?” guessed Lance. “Some kind of weapon?”

“Is it a ro-beast?” Allura asked.

Keith didn’t wait for an answer. “Shield up!”

The robot brought up it shield and sword just as a giant grub-like creature came into view.

“What the heck is that thing?” screeched Lance.

“It’s a weblum!” Hunk cried happily, recognising the creature. “Look, Keith! We’ve been inside one of those!”

Keith’s complexion looked slightly green. “How could I forget?”

You noticed the hideous creature opening what you assumed was its mouth, and a bright light began to glow. “Um, what is it doing?”

“Actually, it’s creating scaultrite,” Hunk informed you. “Pidge, you would love it. It’s this amazing chemical process…”

“Science talk later!” Lance yelled. “We’re in its line of fire!”

“Thrusters!” Keith barked, and Voltron’s thrusters were immediately engaged. It flew out of the way of the bright beam of light that emanated from the weblum’s mouth.

“Should we go on the offensive?” asked Lance.

“No!” Hunk said. “No, they may be dangerous, but they’re essential for the universe. Think of them as, like, giant space bees. Keith and I learned all about them from a video that Coran made. There was some rule like, _‘If you don’t want to be killed, stay away from its gills’_ …”

“That wasn’t the rhyme!” Keith’s tone was indignant. “It was, _‘If you don’t want to be dead, avoid its head’_!”

“We don’t have time to listen to you rhyme,” Allura said testily.

Hunk giggled. “Heh heh! You just…”

“Hunk!” Keith growled a warning.

“Where is that weblum going?” you wondered aloud, hoping to head off any argument.

Pidge tracked its trajectory. “According to my calculations, it’s headed towards… Olkarion.”

“Then we’d better get there first,” Keith decided.

He once again pushed the thrusters to maximum capacity, and Voltron sped past the weblum.

**************************************

As you came out of hyperspace above Olkarion, the Lions separated.

Landing on the planet’s surface, you stared at the devastation below. The cities had been decimated, nothing but twisted rubble.

Pidge was visibly upset. “They were our allies. Our friends.”

Hunk laid a comforting hand on her shoulder as she valiantly tried to keep the tears at bay.

“Paladins,” Keith said softly. You all looked at him. “I know this is a difficult moment, but we need to get to work. That weblum is headed here right now, so time is short. Our top priority is search and rescue. If there are survivors, we need to find them. We need to find out what happened here.”

“There is only one thing capable of this,” Allura said decisively. Everyone knew without question to what she was referring.

“Well, let’s confirm it,” Keith replied, as he turned to lead the search through the ruin of the city.

**************************************

Keith stared at the enormous crater below, as he flew the Black Lion over Olkarion. “I think our worst fears have been realised.”

“What do you see?” Hunk asked.

“The physical wreckage and destruction patterns are just like those on Earth,” you informed him sadly.

Allura replied, “Our findings are the same. It appears the Quintessence was siphoned out of Olkarion as well.”

“Lance and I took readings,” said Hunk as the Yellow Lion continued to scan the area. “We picked up trace elements of cypherite. That’s the same metal the creature on Earth was made from.”

“Why did this ro-beast attack Olkarion of all places?” Allura wondered.

Lance pondered. “Maybe because it was a central part of the Coalition.”

“Maybe,” the princess said doubtfully. “I just get the feeling there’s something more to it.”

“You might be right, but we don’t have any way to confirm it,” Keith said. “Right now, we just need to focus on finding survivors.”

You looked down at the destruction below, and felt your heart clench with fear. You whispered to your team leader, “Do you really think we’re going to find any?”

He looked at you over his shoulder, his face reflecting your fear. “No,” he said honestly. “But I hope I’m wrong.”

**************************************

Somehow, Pidge had managed to tap into the energy of Olkarion, through the connection that Ryner had previously taught her. She saw a vision of the Olkari children playing in the forest, and the moment that a strange meteor flew into the planet’s atmosphere.

She saw Ryner and, confirming everyone’s worst fears, she saw the ro-beast. Its twin scimitars glinted evilly as the giant metal creature wreaked havoc on the peaceful planet.

Pidge felt that the ro-beast was still located within the Olkari city, and she and Allura attempted to get closer to where the visions led her. She heard Ryner give the order to evacuate the civilians, and to scramble the mechs to provide a counterattack.

The vision stopped before she could find anything further. Allura felt that perhaps there might be clues as to where the ro-beast had originated, and where it might be headed next. Pidge assured her that she would find out that information if it was at all possible.

Hunk’s voice interrupted them as he contacted everyone via the helmet comms. “Guys? We have a… we have a major problem here.”

“Hunk released some low-orbit trackers outside of Olkarion on the way in,” Lance continued. “The weblum just set them off. We have about ten minutes to evac.”

“Copy that!” Keith confirmed. “Everyone to their Lions! Let’s go, now!”

“We can’t leave yet,” begged Allura. “How long do you think you can hold it off?”

“Hold it off? It’s a giant space worm! We can’t hold it off! What are you talking about?” Lance shrieked.

“Pidge found a way to tap into Olkarion’s history,” the princess explained. “She may be able to find out what we need to know. We need a little more time.”

“All right,” Keith agreed. “We’ll buy you as much time as we can.”

“Copy that,” confirmed Allura. “Thank you.”

“Hunk, Lance, we need to hurry!” Keith called urgently.

**************************************

The Black, Red and Yellow Lions flew into Olkarion’s upper atmosphere to face the weblum.

“I’ve got it on scanners,” you said, looking at the console and relaying the information through to Lance and Hunk. “Let’s intercept it.”

The three Lions flew directly towards the giant creature as it implacably continued on its course.

“We need to get it to divert its course,” Keith called.

“And how do we do that?” queried Lance.

“How about like this?” Hunk flew the Yellow Lion directly at the weblum, headbutting it just above its gills. The weblum barely noticed. “Uh, my idea isn’t working!”

He flew away as the creature opened its mouth, preparing to fire. All of you dodged the beam, trying to find a way to get the creature to change course until Pidge could get the information she needed.

“Okay, so what were the rules of this thing?” Lance demanded.

“I’m drawing a blank! I’m not good under pressure!” Hunk wailed.

Red fired its large shoulder cannon, which had absolutely no effect. The weblum continued on its path.

“It’s still headed for Olkarion!” yelled Keith in disgust. “We haven’t slowed it down at all!”

**************************************

Hunk contacted the others. “Pidge! Allura! I’m sorry, but you’ve gotta get out of there immediately!”

“I’m coming up to help,” Allura told him, jetpacking her way to the Blue Lion. Apparently Pidge still needed time to find out as much information as possible.

Lance flew Red directly in front of the weblum. “Over here! This way!”

The creature turned in his direction, preparing to blast him, and he skipped out of the way just in time. “Woah! Too close! How did you guys beat this thing the first time?”

“We never beat it,” Keith told him. “Trying to get it to alter its course is an entirely different thing than collecting its scaultrite.”

“All right, that’s it! I’m calling Coran!” Hunk said. He contacted the Atlas. “Coran, come in!”

Coran’s surprised face appeared on the vid-screen. “Hunk! Hello, there.”

“Coran, you’re there!” the Yellow Paladin cried happily. “Okay. I’m sorry to make this quick, but we need to stop a weblum from eating a planet. Like, right now. Any chance you know how to do that?”

“Well, it’s definitely been a while, but in my younger days, me and my cohorts would have a little weblum fun…”

“Coran!” Hunk interrupted. “We’re kind of in a rush here!”

“Right,” the Altean advisor apologised. “Let’s see. If I remember correctly, all you need to do is…” Static. “… on the trilar mootarp, which you’ll find under its dorsal…” More static.

“Oh no no no! Not this again!” groaned Hunk, as Coran’s voice continued to cut out. “The connection is breaking up!”

The video cut out just after Coran gleefully informed Hunk that if the instructions weren’t followed precisely, he would expand to twice his size and then explode into nothing.

Hunk groaned again. “Okay, that conversation took way longer than I expected and I learned _nothing.”_

The Yellow Lion was directly in the path of the weblum, which once again opened its mouth to fire. Before Hunk could react, Blue was in front of him, and activated its sonar cannon. The sonar waves hit the weblum, which briefly ducked away before resolutely returning to its previous course.

“Pidge!” called Allura urgently. “Pidge, are you there? We can’t hold this thing off any longer. You need to get out of there.”

The Green Lion picked up its Paladin and left the Olkarion surface, just as the weblum reached the planet’s atmosphere. You pointed out the cockpit window of the Black Lion. “There she is! The planet is clear!”

“Everyone fall back away from the weblum!” Keith ordered, and the other Paladins immediately complied.

You formed up at the rear of the enormous creature, watching as it fired its beam upon the doomed planet. You wept silently as the weblum began to consume the remnants of the broken planet.

“It’s… it’s all gone,” Lance whispered.

“I’m sorry, Pidge,” Allura said to the Green Paladin.

You could feel Keith’s hurt through the life-bond. “I wish we could have done more,” he apologised.

“Thanks, everyone,” Pidge muttered in a monotone.

Hunk’s voice was philosophical. “If you think about it, this isn’t really the end of Olkarion. Weblums eating dead planets is just the first step in a process that leads to the growth of new stars, planets and galaxies.”

You could hear the smile in Pidge’s voice. “The old gives way to the new.”

There was comfort in that thought. You leaned forward and wrapped your arms around Keith’s shoulders, needing to feel close to him in the aftermath of Olkarion’s destruction. He smiled softly at you as he clasped your hands, interlacing his fingers with yours.

“We did what we could,” he told you.

You sighed. “I just wish it had been more. Poor Pidge. I know how much she loved Olkarion.”

The Green Paladin popped up on the vid-screens. “We need to contact the Atlas.”

“Why?” Allura asked with some confusion.

Pidge’s face was determined. “Because it turns out the Olkari weren’t done teaching us a few things. They showed me a way to track the ro-beasts. Their information is going to save billions of lives.”


	4. Dammit, I Picked The Wrong Side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Paladins make plans to meet with the Atlas, but are ambushed on the way by a mysterious adversary. Acxa makes a surprising alliance when Keith needs rescuing yet again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter aligns with Series 8, Episode 5: “The Grudge”

Shiro’s voice was heard over the comms. “Atlas crew, report to the bridge immediately.”

Veronica and Iverson made their way to the bridge in time to hear Shiro say, “I’ve got an incoming transmission from the Paladins.”

He opened up the communication channel. “Go ahead, Allura.”

“Atlas, we’ve managed to track down an Altean ro-beast,” the princess advised.

Coran gasped. “You found one?”

“Where is it?” asked Shiro. “Did you engage the creature?”

Allura sighed. “Unfortunately, we were too late. It attacked the Olkari and stole the remains of the weaponised cube.”

“Is Olkarion okay?” Coran’s concern was obvious.

“No.” Keith’s voice was filled with sorrow. “Olkarion is gone.”

“The loss of Olkarion is devastating to us all,” the princess continued. “But we were able to acquire some vital information.”

“We learned from the Olkari that the ro-beasts have been travelling via wormhole, which leave behind unique energy signatures,” Keith said seriously. “Pidge created a program that can identify those signatures and pinpoint their exact locations.”

“We’re sending over the readings from Pidge’s program now,” you informed the Atlas crew as you patched through the information.

Coran stared at the star charts in consternation, noting numerous large red icons. “Are you telling us that these are all ro-beasts?”

“We’re not positive, but they could be,” Pidge replied.

“There’s more. After studying the map we noticed the signatures all radiate from a single epicentre.” Allura highlighted a central spot in the map. “Oriande.”

“Wait,” Coran said. “So Honerva could be on Oriande? But I thought only worthy Alteans could get there. Could she have the mark of the Chosen?”

“There’s a lot we don’t know,” admitted Keith. “We need to rendezvous to come up with a plan.”

Coran checked several nearby star systems. “The Baltov Nebula would make a good rendezvous point for both of us.”

“Send us the coordinates, Coran,” you told him. “We’ll see you soon.”

The communication ended, and the Lions put on a burst of speed, anxious to rejoin the Atlas crew and determine the next course of action.

**************************************

Keith’s voice sounded strained as he contacted Shiro. “Atlas, we had some technical difficulties. We’ll be delayed.”

“Copy that,” confirmed Shiro. “How long?”

“We’re still assessing that. Might be a few hours. We’ll keep you updated.”

“Roger that.”

Shiro had the sudden sense that something had gone terribly wrong.

**************************************

“Coming up on rendezvous point, straight ahead,” Pidge advised, as the planet came into view.

The Lions landed, and everyone exited. There was no sign of the Atlas anywhere on the grey, dusty landscape. You looked up at the gigantic volcano on the horizon, and had a sudden premonition of doom. That feeling never boded well.

“Where’s the Atlas?” you asked.

Hunk seemed to share your misgivings. “Anyone else find it strange that Shiro changed the rendezvous point to this place?”

Pidge’s face popped up on the vid-screen. “I’m reading high CO2 and low oxygen in the atmosphere. We’ll need our suits to breathe if we go out there.”

“I’m not going out there,” Hunk said without hesitation.

“They’re here,” Keith said with obvious relief as he spotted the incoming ship. “Atlas, we have a visual.”

The Atlas appeared to glitch as it came in to land. You realised far too late that it had been disguised, and the ship returned to its true form as a Galra warship.

“Paladins, get airborne immediately!” Keith ordered, even as he pushed the Black Lion’s throttle forward. “This is a trap!”

The cruiser activated its tractor beam, hoping to ensnare all of you. The Lions fell to the ground as the beam hit them, rendered useless.

“It’s just like when we were caught by those pirates!” Hunk groaned.

Lanced yelled back, “We’re about to be captured again!”

“Emergency ejection!” Keith barked, his panic obvious.

Every Paladin left their Lions, using your jetpacks to propel yourselves out of the beam’s area of effect. A Galra fighter fired upon you as you ran for cover.

“Atlas, come in!” You tried contacting Shiro and the others through the helmet comms, hoping that the crew would hear you.

“Atlas, we’re under heavy fire!” Keith yelled.

Pidge’s voice was pitched higher than usual. “The Atlas isn’t receiving our communications!”

Taking cover in a thicket of tall rocky spires, all of you crouched down as the fighters flew overhead. Lance kept his sniper rifle ready.

You stared back at the Galra cruiser.

“That beam has the Lions pinned,” fretted Hunk.

Allura frowned. “We must have been set up, but by whom?”

Pidge noticed something on her wrist scanner. A drone of some sort appeared to be tracking you. “Guys, we have incoming. It’s closing fast.”

Before you could react, the drone appeared directly above your hiding spot and immediately began firing at you. Everyone yelled and scattered, trying to run in different directions whilst still staying close enough together that you wouldn’t lose one another.

“We need to lose it,” panted Hunk as he dodged a laser beam.

Lance sprinted past him. “Isn’t there anything we can do to throw it off our scent?”

“It’s not a bloodhound, Lance!” you yelled.

“I’ve got an idea,” puffed Pidge. “But I need a minute!”

Hunk tried to buy her some time by coming to a halt and turning back to face the drone. He activated his cannon, attaching several smaller ones to the surrounding spikes, and firing them all at once. Lance provided support with his sniper rifle, but the drone kept attacking.

You, Keith and Allura hovered protectively over Pidge as she punched a code into her wrist scanner.

“Got it!” she crowed in triumph. “It shouldn’t be able to detect us any more.”

“Then let’s get out of here,” suggested Lance.

Hunk stopped firing, deactivating his Bayard. All of you stood completely still as the drone hovered menacingly overhead, praying silently that Pidge’s hack job had worked. It floated past you, and for several glorious seconds you thought that you might actually be safe.

You were wrong.

The drone fired at you again. Everyone ran as fast as they could to a rocky overhang, using the coverage to protect yourselves as best you could.

Keith brought up his shield. “We need something to draw its attention.”

“I’ve got it,” said Allura. She ran from cover, using her Bayard whip to cut through one of the rocky spires. Its crashing alerted the drone to her presence, and it turned back toward her.

Once its attention was diverted, Keith transformed his Bayard into its sword form, hurling it at the drone and slicing it in two. The Bayard returned to his hand as the pieces of the drone fell to the ground.

“Huh. Good job, Keith,” Lance congratulated him. “I mean, I was just about to do that, too, but, that’s cool.”

Pidge looked closely at the drone. “I might be able to hack into it.”

She inspected the drone even more closely as the rest of you hovered over her. “This is Galra tech, but it looks like it’s been infused with Olkari elements. The sub-atomic microfilament is single-modulated before it goes through its attenuator. Wow.”

“So, it’s pretty amazing, huh?” asked Hunk, who appeared to be the only one that actually understood a single word that Pidge had just uttered.

“Yeah,” Pidge replied breathlessly. “This thing has been locking onto our key encryption protocol that’s built into our suits and Bayards.”

Keith frowned. “How did they get that?”

“I don’t know,” Pidge said. “Only a genius could do it.”

“Can’t we just turn our suits off?” asked Lance.

The Green Paladin shook her head. “Negative. And if the drone had our encryption protocol, then so does that cruiser and anyone on it. If we want to avoid detection, we need to lose our suits _and_ our Bayards.”

“Remove our armour?” you squeaked. “In _this_ place?”

“Has anyone read the atmosphere?” queried Hunk. “Oxygen low, CO2 high. We’re not gonna last long. A few hours, tops. We need our suits to survive.”

Keith shared Hunk’s concern, but concern for the team’s welfare overrode that. “At this point, we’ll survive longer without them.”

“So keep our suits on and risk getting blasted, or take our suits off and try to live long enough before dying from poisoned air,” muttered Lance.

It was difficult to choose which of those options was the lesser of two evils.

**************************************

“Are we sure the Lions are this way?” asked Pidge, as you wandered through the rocky landscape in your under-armour. Nothing looked familiar.

“Everything looks the same,” Hunk muttered.

“Oh, what I’d give for a GPS right now,” Pidge whined.

Allura spoke far more calmly than the rest of you felt. “We cannot allow ourselves to panic. Clearly we relied on our tech far too much. We need to focus if we’re going to get out of here.”

She looked around, before groaning in disgust. “Okay, I’m lost.”

You pointed to the left. “Our Lions are that way.”

Pidge whirled on you in disbelief. “How do you know? Do you have a scanner you’ve been hiding?”

“No, I just looked at the volcano,” you said, pointing to the giant lava-streaked mountain ahead. “It was on our left when we came in, so I put it to our right side and that’s the way out.”

“You’re a genius,” Allura said reverently, as Lance grabbed you in a tight hug.

“No, I’m a navigator. It’s my job to find my way around,” you replied deprecatingly, a blush creeping up your neck. It wasn’t often that you received praise from the princess.

“Well done, Y/N,” Hunk congratulated you.

Pidge sniffed dismissively, clearly unimpressed with your low-tech solution. “Yeah, well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

Before you could give a snarky reply, several laser blasts were fired in your direction, causing you all to start running again.

“More drones,” cried Allura, as you took cover behind a rocky outcrop.

Lance shook his head. “No, look!”

There, standing on the rocky spires, were several Galra pirates. They continued firing at you from their higher positions, and you broke cover once more. Landing heavily, the ground beneath your feet gave way, collapsing and causing all of you to slide down a rocky tunnel.

**************************************

Keith’s voice sounded throughout the Atlas. “Apologies for the delay. We experienced a glitch in navigation. I will have to get back to you.”

Acxa frowned as Veronica sat at her console. Veronica asked, “Everything okay out there, Keith? Do you need help from the Atlas?”

“No assistance required, thank you. Lance will figure it out.”

Veronica laughed. “Lance. Right. The navigation genius.”

“Affirmative,” Keith confirmed, causing Veronica and Acxa to both lift their eyebrows in surprise. Everyone knew that navigation was not Lance’s forte; it was yours.

Veronica turned to Commander Iverson. “How long have they been delayed?”

“They should have arrived when we did,” the grizzled Commander said gruffly.

“Something doesn’t seem right,” Acxa said softly.

“Look at this,” called Curtis, one of the crew on the bridge. “It looks like their frequency has been pinging off a decoy. I’m intercepting it now.”

He brought up the correct frequency, and numerous frantic communications from every Paladin was heard throughout the bridge. Desperate calls for help, increasing in panic, as you tried to alert the Atlas to the emergency you faced. Clearly, the communications that the Atlas had been receiving were a ploy to keep them from coming to the aid of the Paladins.

Iverson stood up abruptly. “We need need all hands on deck. Immediately!”

**************************************

Keith used his jetpack to propel himself towards the volcano. The lava streams were stifling, and his sweat was pouring into his eyes, making it difficult to see. He was thankful that he had managed to convince you to leave with the others, rather than stay with him. He had been prepared for an argument, but you had surprised him by readily agreeing to head back to the Lions. You could pilot the Black Lion almost as well as he could. It made sense that you tried to retrieve it while he led the pirates away from you.

He just hoped that you could get to help in time.

**************************************

You, Lance and Allura came out of a long, winding tunnel, having been separated from Pidge and Hunk during the fall. Lance looked up at the volcano and started running towards it. “Okay, so if Y/N’s volcano logic is correct, the Lions should be on the other side of this…”

Just as you reached a thicket of thorny branches, one of the pirates burst out from behind it, punching Lance solidly on the chin and sending him backward. He sat up. “Allura, Y/N, get out of here! Go!”

He gulped as he found himself facing the barrel of a Galra rifle. You and the princess were nowhere to be seen.

“Looks like they left,” said the pirate at the other end of the rifle.

“Don’t worry,” his companion added. “We’ll find them for you.”

They didn’t notice Allura, who had hidden herself with her Altean camouflage, pop out behind them. She roundhouse kicked both of them, knocking them unconscious.

You ran out from behind the tree where you were hidden, helping Lance to his feet. As he muttered his thanks to you, a large shadow loomed overhead. The three of you looked up, only to see the undercarriage of the Atlas.

The Atlas fired its electromagnetic pulse at the Galra cruiser, disabling its beam and causing it to crash to the planet’s surface.

You, and the Lions, were saved.

**************************************

Acxa stood beside Shiro as the Galra pirates were led away to the brig. He had been surprised to find an Olkari among the pirate crew. The Olkari had been the one using the ghost protocol to clone the Lions’ signal and fool the Atlas.

“Sophisticated jamming and cloning techniques. Impressive. It’s nice to find others on my level.”

Shiro seemed unimpressed by the Olkari’s smug tone. “Yeah, it’s terrific. Now, where’s your leader?”

“I don’t know,” shrugged the Olkari. “I lost her signal when you attacked. But she’s out there somewhere, hunting down the Paladin you call Keith.”

Acxa’s eyes narrowed. “And who exactly _is_ your leader?”

**************************************

You looked up in surprise as Acxa approached you in the medical bay, where you were being treated for possible CO2 poisoning. “Acxa, what’s going on?”

“You need to come with me,” she said shortly.

“I’m fairly certain the doctors won’t want me to leave here without a compelling reason,” you told her.

She looked at you. “Zethrid is going to kill Keith.”

That was enough of a reason for you to follow her.

**************************************

Keith punched the pirate who had been following him. They had been fooled by his Paladin armour, propped up against a rock, while he hid nearby.

When he was sure the pirate was knocked out, he struggled to get to the top of the mountain. His under-armour wouldn’t protect him for long, and without his helmet it was a struggle to get sufficient oxygen into his lungs.

As he crawled to the next ledge, he gasped when he noticed the large pirate standing directly in front of him. He gasped again when they removed their helmet.

“Zethrid?” he whispered. Now he was really glad that you weren’t with him.

Zethrid snarled, a look of absolute hatred on her face. “You took Ezor from me!”

Keith rolled out of the way just as her fist smashed into the rock where he had been sitting only half a second earlier. He got to his feet, drawing his Marmora blade as he did so. The blade lengthened to its sword form, and he swung to defend himself as Zethrid launched herself at him again.

In his weakened state, he found it difficult to defend himself effectively. Zethrid landed blow after blow, her fury giving her a strength that Keith was helpless against. He flew backwards, standing painfully as the Galra flew at him once more. She pushed him inexorably backward, towards the edge of a cliff which was directly over the lava below.

“I don’t know what you think I did,” Keith panted.

“You took away everything, and now my face will be the last one you see!” Zethrid howled in fury, as she charged at him.

Keith brought up his Marmora blade, but Zethrid caught his wrist and managed to fling the blade away. She grabbed him by the throat, lifting him as easily as if he were nothing but a ragdoll. He struggled to loosen her grip, but it was useless. She squeezed, and he began to see spots dancing in front of his eyes.

The sound of a jet overhead distracted Zethrid, and Keith found himself looking at the MFE fighters as they landed on the surface of the planet. The Galra dropped him in surprise at the intrusion, and he tried to make a break for it, but she hauled him back, holding him hostage with one arm as she held a large pistol to his head.

You and Acxa jumped out of the MFEs, the two of you standing before Zethrid. Your eyes found Keith’s, searching to see if he was all right. If Zethrid had harmed one hair on his head, you were going to make her pay.

“Does one of you have the shot?” Keith heard Griffin call.

“It’s too risky,” Rizavi replied.

“Zethrid,” Acxa pleaded. “Don’t do this.”

“I knew you’d come,” Zethrid sneered. “You and that pretty Paladin he’s so fond of. Now you will both feel what I felt.”

“It’s over, Zethrid,” you said. “You’re surrounded.”

She laughed mirthlessly. “You think this deters me? I _welcome_ death, now that Ezor’s gone.”

Acxa removed her helmet and looked into the eyes of her former team-mate. “Zethrid, I know you hurt. Ezor hurt too. That’s why she left you. She couldn’t keep holding on to the anger.”

Zethrid shook her head in denial, tightening her grip on Keith. “Stop!”

“Hear my words!” Acxa continued. “Remember how we first met. We were all so full of hate and rage! Half-breeds rejected by the Galra! Lotor _used_ us. He led us down a painful path, a never-ending cycle of destruction and loss. Now’s your chance to break that cycle! With me. With Ezor! She wants you to leave the rage behind.”

“I’m too far gone!” Zethrid cried. “She’ll never take me back!”

She squeezed on Keith’s neck once more, and he groaned in pain. You took a step forward before Acxa’s voice stopped you.

“Wait, please! Don’t let the rage control you!”

“All I have left,” said Zethrid, turning her pistol toward Acxa, “is revenge!”

You jumped in front of Acxa without hesitation, even as you heard a shot ring out. Your eyes widened in shock as you saw Zethrid fall backward, felled by a shot from Veronica, who was hidden behind a nearby boulder.

Zethrid fell from the ledge, but before she could be consumed by the lava below, Keith reached for her. He grasped her hand, trying desperately to haul her back up. You and Acxa raced to help him, the three of you dragging the unconscious Galra back onto the ledge.

Once she was safe, you threw your arms around Keith, sobbing with relief that he had not been more badly hurt. You pressed kisses all over his face, murmuring in between each one that he was safe now. He held you close, wishing that he could never let you go, athough his face burned with embarrassment at your overt display of affection in front of the Atlas crew.

You untangled yourself after a few moments, and helped him to his feet. The two of you walked back to Acxa, who was watching as Shiro and Griffin carried Zethrid to one of the MFE’s.

“You were going to sacrifice yourself to save me,” Acxa whispered in a puzzled tone.

You looked steadily at the Galra woman. “I wasn’t going to let Zethrid harm you. You’re our friend, Acxa.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. “You consider me a friend? After all I’ve done to you?”

“You’ve done just as much to help us. You’ve proven that we can trust you.” You pulled her to you, startling her when you wrapped your arms around her. “You helped save Keith, and for that, I will always be grateful to you.”

Keith smiled as Acxa awkwardly returned your embrace. It seemed that you were finally over your jealousy of the lovely Galra, and now considered her part of the family. You pressed a soft kiss to her cheek before letting her go and once again wrapping your arms around Keith.

“She is very confusing,” Acxa told Keith with a puzzled frown, causing him to laugh.

“Tell me about it. I still never know what to expect from her.” He smiled affectionately at you. “That’s part of her charm.”

The three of you made your way to the awaiting MFE’s, finally ready to return to the Atlas.


	5. Rage Quit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Voltron returns to Oriande to confront Honerva after discovering that she is using wormholes to harvest enormous amounts of Quintessence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter corresponds to the events of Series 8, Episode 6: “Genesis”

Coran brought up the star charts so that everyone could see them, highlighting planets as he named them. “We have confirmation that Honerva’s beasts have touched down on planets Sonuuk, Vaxellum, Seev, and we continue to receive more transmissions.”

Veronica nodded. “This is consistent with the reports I’m receiving, as well.”

“The wormhole signatures we discovered on Olkarion – they were a map to where the ro-beasts were headed,” said Pidge, staring at the chart. “They must have been waiting this entire time.”

Keith’s face reflected his anger. “They’re targeting multiple fronts simultaneously.”

“What do we do?” asked Hunk, his voice filled with concern.

Shiro rested his chin on his hands. “We keep our calm. Coran, continue to mark the planets where the beasts have landed. Veronica, give us any real-time updates as they come in.”

“Copy that,” she said, typing data into her laptop. “Just got another report from Sonuuk. The ro-beasts are covered in some type of shield, like a particle barrier.”

Everyone studied the image she brought up, trying to detect a weakness.

“They’re not attacking the planet?” Allura queried, sounding confused.

“Not yet.”

**************************************

Veronica was frantically scrolling through the information that was streaming in from several planets. “The planets are reporting activity. The ro-beasts are siphoning Quintessence.”

“We need to engage them all, save as many people as we can,” Commander Iverson suggested. “We’re talking about triage here.”

“We could split up the Lions,” ventured Keith, looking unhappy about the suggestion even as he made it.

“One Lion can’t handle a ro-beast on its own!” objected Hunk, clenching his fists.

Keith growled. “No, but it could slow them down. Buy us some time.”

“I say we attack them with the totality of our forces and wormhole from target to target,” Shiro said decisively.

You were beginning to feel dizzy from the conflicting strategies being thrown about.

Allura jumped to her feet. “No! We must attack Oriande directly. I think I know what Honerva’s doing. We know Honerva has the ability to create wormholes, and that these wormholes are emanating from Oriande.”

The princess highlighted the wormholes on the holomap to illustrate her point as she continued. “She used a ro-beast to steal the Olkari cubes, which can mimic and intensify energy at a distance. And those ro-beasts are essentially armed with Komars – able to drain and transmit massive amounts of Quintessence. Honerva is going to concentrate energy from across the universe to Oriande. She is making a Komar magnitudes larger than anything we’ve ever seen. Something that could drain the Quintessence from an entire galaxy.”

“No,” came Sam Holt’s horrified whisper, as everyone stared at the hypothesis that Allura had presented so vividly. It was worse than anything you could possibly have imagined.

Honerva was mad. She had to be. Nobody in their right mind would ever conceive of such a plan.

“What could she possibly need that much energy for?” you wondered aloud.

Allura sighed. “I don’t know. But we need to act immediately. The only way to stop them is by going directly to Oriande.”

Keith got to his feet, his anger palpable. “And that’s what Voltron is gonna do.”

Allura smiled at him gratefully, knowing that he hated this situation just as much as she did.

“The Atlas will accompany you,” said Shiro. “We don’t have time to wait for the rest of the Coalition.”

Keith turned to Commander Holt. “Contact Matt. Let him know the rebels are going to be in charge of the evacuation efforts for the occupied planets. And they shouldn’t expect assistance.”

The princess looked everyone in the eye, one at a time. “Then we are in agreement. It is time to begin our assault on Oriande.”

Not one person voiced an objection.

**************************************

Allura opened several wormholes, sending the rebel fleet to the various planets currently under attack from the ro-beasts. Once they were in position, she opened a much larger wormhole, sending the Atlas through to Oriande.

Time to slay the proverbial lion in its den.

**************************************

The Atlas exited the wormhole directly in front of Oriande and immediately hit turbulence. Shiro called out, “Sam, we’re experiencing interference. Can you lock that down?”

“I’m on it,” confirmed Commander Holt. “This interference is multi-phasal. What could cause something like this?”

The little alien genius, Slav, was frantically typing away. He muttered something about a multi-phasal interference causing a reality-ending event, based on the colour socks that Sam was wearing. He then suggested something that would isolate the mutated anti-matter isotopes, before demanding that Sam put on a pair of green socks.

Some things never changed.

Coran studied the data on his screen. “The Atlas can’t go much further due to the Petrulian Zone’s radiation.”

He looked out the cockpit window, gasping as he did so. “There they are! The Olkari cubes!”

All of you noticed the cubes scattered around the perimeter of Oriande, floating in the surrounding debris field.

“I’m not picking up any energy signatures,” muttered Iverson. “They must not be active.”

Veronica said, “I’m picking something up. It’s… coming from the white hole.”

Allura frowned, before she realised what it was. “The Guardian.”

However, instead of the White Lion appearing before you, two of the ro-beasts exited the white hole and headed directly toward the Atlas.

“No!” cried Allura. “Where is the Guardian?”

“We don’t have time to engage these ro-beasts.” Keith turned to Shiro. “Can you clear a path?”

Shiro nodded to him. “We’ll get you through. Atlas crew, prepare for transformation sequence.”

As the Paladins headed to the hangar to board their Lions, the Atlas transformed into its enormous mech-form, substantially dwarfing the two approaching ro-beasts. “Okay, Voltron. Engaging now. Good luck out there.”

“Good luck to you as well,” Keith replied. Contacting the other Paladins, he said, “I’m deferring command to Allura.”

It made sense. She had previously entered Oriande, and had a better understanding of how Honerva’s magic worked. You were proud of Keith for his acceptance of the fact that the princess had the knowledge best suited for this mission. He was definitely becoming a fine leader.

The ro-beasts fired upon the Atlas-mech, hoping to be able to land on it and siphon its Quintessence. The Atlas-mech evaded them clumsily, but managed to swat them aside.

Whilst their attention was diverted, the Lions flew towards Oriande, forming Voltron as they did so. One of the ro-beasts noticed and began to give chase, only to be stopped by the Atlas-mech.

Voltron flew into the white hole, trying to avoid the debris littering it.

Lance spotted the danger first. “Look out!”

Voltron managed to duck out of the way just as an intense beam of purple light entered the white hole. It appeared that the Olkari cubes were transferring the Quintessence from the ro-beasts directly into the heart of Oriande.

“We gotta move!” Keith urged, and he and Lance engaged their Bayards to activate Voltron’s enormous booster wings.

Voltron followed the beam to the pyramid in the centre of Oriande, where the light was captured. You stared in horror at the enormous White Lion, lying limply in a dark orb, as lightning flashed around it.

“The Guardian!” Allura cried in alarm. “She’s draining its Quintessece!”

The White Lion roared, and the orb exploded, opening up several layers of wormholes stacked one atop the other.

“No! She’s destroyed the Guardian!” Allura’s voice was filled with rage at what Honerva had done. “We have to stop that witch immediately!”

“Two ro-beasts incoming!” you yelled as you spotted two objects heading your way.

“Form sword!” ordered Keith, and Pidge and Lance activated Voltron’s twin blades.

Voltron engaged both ro-beasts, determined to bring them down so that you could concentrate on ending Honerva’s plan. Blow after blow was struck, intent on driving the beasts back.

While you were locked with one ro-beast, the other flew behind you and attacked with its scimitar, attempting to drain the Quintessence from Voltron. Everyone screamed as, weakened, the other ro-beast broke free and hit Voltron in the chest, sending it crashing to Oriande’s surface.

You stared at the crater below, the wind swirling like a hurricane around Honerva, who appeared to be absorbing all of the Quintessence from the fallen Guardian.

Uncomprehendingly, you saw what appeared to be a village below, where previously there had been nothing. Perhaps you had hit your head too hard when Voltron crashed to the ground.

“What’s going on?” Lance asked, and you realised that he had seen it too.

“Are those… people down there?” Hunk’s voice sounded just as confused as you felt.

Pidge’s voice was full of awe. “According to my readings, we’re seeing into other realities!”

“What?” Keith’s voice was several octaves higher than normal.

“There must be some kind of rip in the fabric of time,” Pidge continued. “The essence of realities is leaking out. Honerva is tearing apart timelines! She could cause irreparable damage to reality itself!”

“We have to stop this madness!” you screeched, not caring that you sounded hysterical. Life as you knew it could cease to exist at any moment. A little hysteria was probably warranted right about now.

Voltron flew above Oriande, and all of you tried to figure out a way to stop the mad witch below.

Allura’s console lit up. “Hunk?”

“I feel it,” the Yellow Paladin confirmed. The Blue and Yellow Bayards were inserted simultaneously, and Voltron suddenly developed missile launchers on both legs. Several missiles were fired at once, hitting the ro-beasts, but not disabling them entirely.

“Let’s move!” Allura called out, and Voltron headed towards Oriande’s surface again. It was thrown backwards, however, by an enormous blast of intense white light as the realities ripped apart.

The light faded, and you stared in disbelief at the Sincline ship that now stood on Oriande’s surface.

Somehow, Honerva had brought Lotor and his ship back from the Quintessence field where he had perished over three years ago.

Keith’s voice echoed everyone else’s horror. “This was Honerva’s plan all along.”

“He’s… he’s back,” whispered Allura. “I can’t… No!”

The Sincline ship stood erect, seeming to look directly at Voltron.

Keith’s voice was urgent. “Paladins! Attack!”

Voltron flew toward the Sincline-mech, which easily caught both blades in its hands before using the momentum to fling Voltron into the nearest ro-beast. Keith managed to bring the shield up just as the Sincline-mech punched Voltron, pounding it over and over with its fists. Its final blow was hard enough to disengage the Lions, each falling separately to Oriande’s surface.

The Lions lay still, as did their Paladins.

**************************************

Allura was the first to awaken. She called out weakly, “We need to move.”

There was no response. She spoke again. “Does anyone copy?”

Still nothing. Blue didn’t respond, and neither did any of the other Paladins.

She noticed Honerva getting to her feet. With a snarl, she exited the Blue Lion. “Time to end this.”

Jetpacking towards Honerva, Allura failed to notice the Sincline-mech preparing to fire at her.

Luckily, the Blue Paladin did.

“Allura!” Lance brought Red to her feet, and the Lion ran to the aid of the princess. He was intercepted by one of the ro-beasts, however, and sent flying backwards once more.

The Sincline-mech skewered the ro-beast with its tail, tossing the pieces of the broken beast aside before summoning its enormous blade. It headed directly for the Red Lion, once more lying motionless.

Before it could strike, its blade was stilled by a command from Honerva.

Seeing her opportunity, Allura transformed her Bayard into a long spear, and with a cry she leapt toward the witch, intent on striking her down where she stood. Honerva, however, anticipated her attack and called forth the black lightning she had used to such devastating effect for the past ten thousand years.

**************************************

Allura blinked, and found herself standing in an inky blackness.

“Altea’s wayward daughter,” Honerva’s voice mocked.

Allura hissed. “Don’t you _dare_ mention Altea to me!”

“This is just the beginning,” Honerva’s voice said softly. “Join me and our people. Together, we will go back to Altea.”

“We cannot go back!” Allura protested. “It is destroyed, because of you!”

Honerva’s voice purred, “Think of your father. I knew Alfor well. This is what he would have wanted. Join me and the Alteans.”

Allura struck out behind her. “Never! You cannot keep me here forever. And the moment you release your hold, I will end you.”

“Then you will end your friends as well,” said Honerva tonelessly. Allura turned to see the witch standing before her, a ball of energy in her hands as she brought up image after image of the Lions. “I am the only thing keeping my son at bay. Join the right side of this war.”

**************************************

Allura blinked once more, and found herself back on Oriande’s surface, still mid-air as she prepared to strike down Honerva. Gazing into the eyes of the witch, however, she hesitated.

Returning her Bayard to its usual form, she rolled to the ground, tears filling her eyes.

Honerva looked down at her without emotion, before calling the Sincline-mech to her. It knelt before her, and she wordlessly lifted the pyramid before which she stood into the air. It was reminiscent of the Castle of Lions, the enormous structure as much a ship as it was a fortress.

Allura made her way back to Blue. “Paladins, are you there?”

She grunted as Oriande began to break apart, the reality tears causing the fabled land to disintegrate. “Paladins, respond! We must get out of here or we will all perish!”

“Allura,” Lance said weakly, as Red got to her feet.

Keith sat up gingerly, bringing the Black Lion upright once more. “I’m moving again.”

You winced as you sat up. “I’m okay. Pidge? Hunk?”

“I’m here,” whispered Pidge, and Hunk confirmed that the Yellow Lion was also back online.

“Let’s move,” Allura said, and all five Lions left without further hesitation.

The Lions flew through exploding debris and lightning storms. Pidge said weakly, “The white hole is closing. If we don’t get out, we’ll be trapped here forever.”

The Atlas came into view as the Lions left the white hole, and a wormhole appeared in front of you. The Atlas and the five Lions flew into the wormhole just as the white hole collapsed in a blazing mass of white light.

As you came out the other side of the wormhole, you sighed with relief at the relative quietness of the space surrounding you.

Hunk was the first to ask what everyone was thinking. “What the heck just happened?”

“We failed,” Allura said simply. “And every reality will pay the price.”


	6. All The Fun Of The Fair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Officers Kinkade and Rizavi make a documentary showing the day-to-day antics of life on the Atlas. 
> 
> The Paladins and Atlas crew return to a planet where there is only one clear day per year, and find themselves running amok at the Clear Day Festival.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter combines the events of part of Series 8, Episode 7 “Day Forty-Seven” and Episode 8 “Clear Day”
> 
> Enjoy some fluff before a truckload of angst...

For some reason, Ryan Kinkade had decided that it was necessary to document the day-to-day goings on aboard the IGF-Atlas, and was wandering around the ship with a video camera in tow. Most of the crew had the good sense to be too busy to talk to him, but the Paladins didn’t seem to be having any such luck.

Nadia Rizavi, having got wind of what he was doing, had taken it upon herself to help Kinkade ‘spruce up’ his documentary, as his previous efforts were ‘boring’. She and Griffin had told you about the video he had made during your time away with the other Paladins, when even the lecturer had been bored to tears with his documentary on yeast. Rizavi didn’t want her potential audience to suffer the same fate, and was trying to figure out how to incorporate a light show and explosions into the commentary.

She and Kinkade had cornered you, Keith and Pidge in the mess hall, where the three of you were attempting to eat breakfast. Poor Keith looked like a deer in the headlights of an oncoming road train, while Pidge just seemed resigned.

Kinkade finished adjusting the camera and spoke to Pidge. “Okay, we’re set.”

“So, uh, catch us up on what’s going on,” Rizavi said encouragingly.

Pidge’s grin seemed forced. “Right. Well, the Atlas is headed to the Grey-I System where we’ve identified the remains of a disabled ro-beast.”

“Oh, those things are pretty dangerous, right?” Rizavi asked breathlessly, and it was all you could do not to snort your orange juice out of your nose. Her attempts to make things seem more exciting were verging on the melodramatic, and you found yourself on the edge of hysterics every time you saw Kinkade rolling his eyes.

Pidge looked unimpressed. “Do I need to explain that the ro-beast was one of the ones used in Honerva’s intergalactic ritual?”

“No, it’s fine,” Rizavi assured her.

“Oh, okay. Um, so, once the Atlas arrives in orbit around the planet, the other Paladins and I will head down to the surface to secure the ro-beast and hopefully find its Altean pilot.”

Rizavi groaned in disgust at the lack of excitement in Pidge’s description. She grabbed the recorder and focused on the Red Paladin. “Keith! Why don’t _you_ tell us about the dangers of this mission?”

This time you did snort with laughter, and said in between your giggles, “Oh, this is going to be riveting. Keith _really_ knows how to draw in an audience. I think it’s the hair. Can I have your autograph?”

You propped your chin in your hands and batted your eyelashes at him, pretending to swoon. Rizavi barked out a laugh, and even Kinkade cracked a smile.

Keith glared at you briefly before turning his gaze to look at the camera, and began speaking rather woodenly. “Well, every mission has some inherent dangers. For this one, we have to be especially diligent about the ro-beast. Even if it’s not fully functional it could still pose an extreme threat. Combine that with the hostile Altean that’s probably still in the vicinity and you’ve potentially got threats on multiple fronts.”

Hunk was walking out of the kitchen, carrying a covered tray containing his latest culinary creation, when he spotted the camera. He grinned and stood directly behind Keith. “Hey guys, what’s up? You making a movie? Cool. Can I be in it? No, wait. If this is an action movie – is it? – I don’t want to be in it.”

“Hunk, we’re _trying_ to do an interview here,” Rizavi growled. She glared at you from behind the camera when your laughter increased.

“Oh, yeah, sorry. My bad.” Hunk looked contrite for half a second. “I just came by to see if you wanted to try this new recipe I’ve been experimenting with.”

He lifted the lid and a delectable-looking cake was revealed. “This is just the first pass. The final version of it will be coming soon.”

If Rizavi wasn’t impressed by Hunk’s cake, the Holt family dog, Bae Bae, most definitely was. She sat at Hunk’s feet, whining and wagging her tail, hoping some stray crumbs would drop near her. You crooned over the dog, telling her she was the best girl, giggling when Bae Bae licked your face.

Kinkade drooled. “What’s the recipe? Can we watch you work?”

Hunk blushed. “Well, yeah. Yeah, this’ll be great. I’ve secretly always wanted my own cooking show.”

Rizavi stomped in front of the camera. “What? No! Keith was just telling us about the mission and all the dangers. We’re not losing that to document cooking!”

“But I like cooking…” Kinkade muttered.

Rizavi rolled her eyes. “It’s like you’re _trying_ to make this boring.”

Wow, she was an even bigger diva than Lance.

“Woah, first of all, cooking is not boring, okay?” Hunk told her defensively. “And it can bring people together. Some of the best times of my life were spent breaking bread with loved ones.”

Keith popped his head back in front of the camera with a hopeful expression on his face. “So, is this interview over?”

“Sounds like it’s over to me,” you said helpfully.

“No!” snapped Rizavi. “Great, now the talent’s getting restless!”

An alarm started blaring, and Iverson’s voice was heard over the comms. “Everyone to your battle stations immediately!”

The Atlas was rocked by a loud explosion. “I repeat, battle stations immediately! This is not a drill!”

It seemed like the interview was indeed over, whether Rizavi liked it or not.

**************************************

The Paladins brought yet another Altean pilot onto the Atlas. There were now several, and Allura and Romelle had been struggling to find a way to get them to trust the princess, rather than Honerva.

Once again, Hunk came to the rescue. He had managed to replicate a traditional Altean dessert, and one of the pilots – a male named Tavos – became much more willing to talk to Allura.

Unfortunately, when he began to provide information to her, Honerva used whatever psychic link she had to the Alteans and rendered him unconscious. Allura had managed to remove a foreign element from Tavos, something that was sentient and far from friendly, and with Sam’s help had captured it in a secure biohazard container.

She spent most of her time studying the dark creature, which had been dubbed the Entity, almost to the exclusion of everyone and everything around her.

**************************************

A few days after Kinkade and Rizavi’s failed documentary, the crew of the Atlas found themselves in the vicinity of Planet Drazzin – the planet that had only one clear day per year, and the one that Voltron had missed during the days of the Voltron show.

The leader of the planet insisted that the Clear Day Festival was going ahead, despite unrest in the region, and suggested none-too-subtly that if the Voltron Coalition were concerned about the safety of the people on his planet, that they attend the festival and provide security free of charge.

Clearly, he was still holding a grudge against Voltron’s previous no-show.

So, it looked like the team were finally going to Clear Day.

**************************************

“I want you all to enjoy yourselves today,” Shiro said. “The celebration ends in five vargas. It’s important to remember that while the Atlas patrols the skies, we are the eyes and ears on the ground, looking for any suspicious activity. These people are relying on us.”

The Lions, MFEs and various rebel transports landed on the surface of the planet, to a colourful fireworks display and a large crowd of cheering patrons. It was like a giant carnival, full of games and rides and sugary treats.

Coran came up to each of you, placing a pile of clinking tokens in your hands. “I pulled some strings and got each of you ten complimentary Clear Day tokens. Use them for games, food, rides…”

You looked around, noticing that one of the team was missing. “Where’s Allura?”

“She’s going to stay back and rest,” Lance told you. His gaze grew speculative. “I just need to find something to bring back for her.”

“That’s nice of you, Lance. I’ll help, too,” offered Pidge.

“Me three,” said Hunk.

Keith scowled, his default expression whenever it appeared that everybody was having too much fun. “Let’s remember why we came here in the first place. To provide security for the event.”

Pidge grew furtive. “Right. Well then, I’d better go find the arcade and make sure it’s safe.”

She scooted off as fast as her legs could carry her.

“Me too,” Lance cried as he scurried after her.

“Me three!” yelled Hunk.

Shiro shook his head. “Keith, relax. Go have fun.”

Keith’s scowl deepened. “If we’re not here for protection, then what are we even doing here?”

Shiro shrugged. “Morale on the Atlas is low after what happened on Oriande. Who knows? A few hours at the carnival might just give us the boost we need to get back on track.”

“Don’t worry, Shiro,” you assured your friend. “I’ll make sure he has fun, even if it kills him.”

Shiro laughed. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

You grabbed Keith by the hand, dragging him towards a brightly lit arcade before he could object further.

“Y/N, what are you doing?” he demanded, trying futilely to remove his hand from your grip. You were surprisingly strong when you were determined to get your own way.

“I’m going to get you to have fun, Keith, whether you like it or not. Now come on. You need to win me something sparkly.”

He blinked. “Why?”

You looked at him pleadingly, your eyes glittering with unshed tears which you had summoned seemingly on command. “Because I just know that Lance is going to get something sparkly for Allura, and you don’t want everybody to think that he loves her more than you love me, do you?”

Keith rolled his eyes. “You don’t fight fair.”

“Nope.”

With a sigh, he let you drag him along. You really were going to be the death of him.

**************************************

You stood aside, sighing melodramatically, as Keith interrogated several of the festival-goers. “Look, guys, I just want to know if you’ve seen anything suspicious.”

“Well, there is one weirdo who’s going around bothering people about if they’ve seen anything suspicious,” one of the group replied sarcastically.

“Okay, that’s a start,” Keith said, the sarcasm going over his head. “Did you get a good look at…”

His face fell. “It’s me, isn’t it?”

The aliens walked away laughing. You hip-bumped him, one eyebrow quirked. “You know, you kind of walked right into that one.”

Before he could retort with a snarky comeback, Hunk sidled up to the two of you. “Hey, whatcha doin’? Making new friends? Sweet. You know, Keith, it’s good to see you finally letting your guard down.”

“I wasn’t making friends,” Keith protested.

“Next!” called an impatient voice. The three of you looked at a small alien who reminded you of the slimy knife-seller at the space mall. “Come on! You’re holding the line up! Let’s go!”

“The line? Line for what?” asked Hunk.

The alien pointed behind you, and you noticed a long line of angry faces. Before you could protest, he shoved the three of you into the carriage of the ride at which you were standing. You were squashed between the two boys.

Hunk ignored your squawk of protest when he leaned across you, squashing you even more. “Oh, no. You don’t understand. I don’t like rides.”

“Then why were you in line?” demanded the alien.

“We didn’t know it was a line!” yelled Keith.

“Likely story,” huffed the alien. “Keep your hands and feet in the ride at all times. You use ‘em, you lose ‘em. Have a blissfully burrowful time.”

The carriage began moving along the track, and Hunk immediately started making noises of distress.

“Hunk, if you throw up on me, I am going to make your life a living hell,” you promised him.

All of a sudden, the most annoying song you had ever heard commenced. Dozens of little puppets began singing about Clear Day. Hunk’s eyes lit up with delight, while you were reminded of the time you suffered through the It’s a Small World ride at Disneyland when you were a small child. Your expression matched Keith’s, both of you narrowing your eyes with displeasure at the assault on your ears.

Without warning, the ride shuddered to a halt, the carriage stopping in the middle of those awful puppets. The ride attendant’s voice came over the speakers. “Sorry for the inconvenience. We’ll get this thing up and running in a tick. In the meantime, stay in your burrow buggy! And remember, have a blissfully burrowful time.”

“We gotta get out of here,” Keith muttered, as your eye began to twitch.

**************************************

After what felt like hours, the ride began to move again. The alien spoke once more. “Looks like everything is in order. We apologise for the delay. Again, have a blissfully burrowful time.”

Keith sighed with relief. “Finally!”

You had only moved a few feet, however, before the ride once again came to a complete stop. With a screech of rage, you grabbed Keith’s Bayard and transformed it into the katana. “That’s it! I’m getting out of here!”

You sliced the holding bar of the ride, and leapt from it towards freedom. Without hesitation, Keith followed, simultaneously awed that you had managed to use his Bayard successfully and thankful that you had saved him from what he felt was a fate worse than death.

You used the katana to cut a hole in the side of the tunnel through which the ride travelled, climbing out into a brightly lit area. Wordlessly, you handed Keith his Bayard.

_‘Babe, I think that just might be the most romantic thing you’ve ever done for me,’_ his amused thought caressed your mind. _‘You really must love me.’_

_‘No, I just really hated that ride. If I had to listen to another second of that stupid song, I was likely to go on a homicidal rampage.’_

_‘A woman after my own heart.’_

Hunk, who had whined about wanting to see how the ride ended, followed morosely behind the two of you. The three of you wandered aimlessly, trying to find your bearings, when you came upon a stage. To your surprise, standing there was Coran, together with another alien. Apparently, they were the two finalists of the yalmor calling competition.

The alien went first, an unearthly shriek emanating from her vocal cords. You covered your ears to minimise the aural assault. Great, you’d escaped one annoying sound only to find yourselve smack bang in the middle of something even worse.

It got worse. When it was Coran’s turn, he danced upon the stage like a man possessed, making the most hideous noises you had ever heard. Hunk and Keith stood, mouths agape, as the three of you watched the ridiculous spectacle.

The crowd loved it, and evidently the judges did as well, for Coran was crowned the winner.

You weren’t sure whether to be proud or embarrassed.

**************************************

You came upon Lance just as he finished signing his name on a large pile of Blue Lion plushies. The games vendor handed him one.

“Nice plushie,” you grinned at your friend.

Lance eyed Coran’s enormous trophy. “Nice trophy!”

“Look what I got for Allura!” called Pidge excitedly, pointing to the gem-encrusted miner’s helmet adorning her messy locks. “I bet she’s really gonna ‘dig’ it!”

Keith looked around. “Where’s Shiro?”

**************************************

The alien host stood on stage and cleared his throat. “Ladies and burrowmen, are you ready to crown an arm-wrestling champion?”

The crowd cheered loudly, and the host continued. “First up is our challenger. Former Paladin of Voltron, and the current Captain of the IGF-Atlas. Hailing from some tiny planet no-one has ever heard of, it’s Shiro!”

All of you stared in open-mouthed shock as your former leader stood on stage, bowing to the crowd. Hunk nearly choked on his popcorn, and Keith’s eyes were as wide as saucers, while you, Pidge and Lance cheered wildly as Shiro moved to the centre of the stage.

The host grinned maniacally. “And our reigning champion, who needs no introduction, let’s hear it for The Warden!”

You and Lance stopped cheering as you stared at The Warden, who had been in charge of the Galra prison that you had rescued Slav from. He had even more enhancements than you remembered from that encounter.

Keith nudged you. “Friend of yours?”

“Not exactly,” you muttered out of the side of your mouth.

Shiro gulped, as he too remembered the last time he had fought the intimidating Galra standing before him. The two of them met at the table in the centre of the stage, gripping hands tightly. The host bound their hands together.

The Warden snarled at Shiro. “You and your little friends took away my livelihood.”

“ _You_ held an innocent person prisoner to help the Galra Empire,” Shiro snapped back. His eyes narrowed. “I’d gladly do it again.”

The Warden lowered his face, looking ashamed. Shiro frowned at him in puzzlement. The Warden spoke softly. “Look, I know I did some bad things. The truth is, I thought you guys ruined my life but, really, you saved me.”

Shiro’s jaw dropped open in shock as the Galra grinned at him. “After I stopped working for the Galra, I was at a low point. But then, I found arm wrestling and it helped me realise what’s most important in my life. Win or lose, thank you. Now, let’s put on a show!”

The two of them strained against one another, neither seeming to be able to gain the upper hand, so to speak. It seemed to be an even match.

Shiro glanced at everyone from the corner of his eye. Each Paladin was cheering him on, calling his name wildly. You were particularly vicious, yelling for Shiro to crush his opponent, and Keith looked at you with absolute adoration. Shiro grinned.

With a yell, he put all of his strength into his arm, pressing down as hard as he could. The Warden’s hand slammed onto the table. Shiro was victorious.

The Paladins stormed onto the stage, lifting Shiro onto your shoulders as confetti rained down upon him.

Clear Day hadn’t been so bad, after all.


	7. Snap Back To Reality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paladins both old and new join forces to prevent Honerva from enacting her plans to find her happy-ever-after with Zarkon and Lotor in an alternate reality, knowing that if she succeeds, all other realities will cease to exist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter takes place during Series 8 Episode 9 “Knights of Light, Part 1” and Episode 10 “Knights of Light, Part 2”
> 
> Flashbacks are in italics.

The team had returned from Clear Day in high spirits. These were quickly doused, however, upon the discovery of an unconscious Allura near the containment unit which had housed the Entity from the Quintessence field. The Entity was now missing.

The princess did not regain consciousness for two days. Coran and Lance were frantic. Coran was particularly troubled to learn that Allura had released the Entity, and that it had entered her body in order to provide her with a connection to Honerva. Allura was convinced that using the dark creature was the only way to see into Honerva’s mind, and nobody could persuade her otherwise.

It made for an unhappy few days.

**************************************

Shiro entered the conference room where all the Paladins and Coran were seated. “You wanted to see me?”

“We’ve been working on something,” you replied. “And we thought we’d run it by you.”

“We think we might have a way to find Honerva,” added Keith.

Allura spoke once Shiro was seated. “The Entity has bonded me to Honerva. The link is there whether we utilise it or not. I believe that if the Paladins connect using the shared consciousness of Voltron, we may be able to travel through the Void and into Honerva’s mind.”

Lance’s face grew angrier with each word the princess spoke. His arms were crossed in front of his chest, and his entire being told of an unusual level of aggression. It frightened you seeing your normally happy-go-lucky friend so furious.

“That could, in theory, give us access to her physical location as well as key information on how to defeat her,” Pidge said.

Hunk frowned. “Which, after what happened the last time we faced her, could be super useful.”

“Honerva is capable of creating galactic Komars, wormholes, ro-beasts…” Keith sighed heavily. “And now Lotor and his mech are out there somewhere. She is the single greatest threat the universe has ever faced. And we don’t have any other leads. It might take lifetimes for another opportunity like this to come around. We think this is worth the risk.”

You knew that Keith wasn’t entirely happy about the solution that Allura presented, but you both agreed that it was an opportunity that was too good to pass up, no matter how dangerous and unapalatable it was.

Shiro’s expression was grim. “I spent a lot of time in the Infinite Void. It took _all_ of my strength not to lose my sanity. And if you face Honerva in the Void, she _will_ win.”

His face softened. “But, if you can find a clue that leads to defeating Honerva and Lotor, it could give us the upper hand in this fight.”

“I don’t like the idea of using Allura like this,” objected Lance. “We’re messing with powers we don’t fully understand that have ruined countless lives. It’s… it’s dangerous.”

“None of us like this idea, Lance, but what other option do we have?” you asked him. His expression darkened, knowing he had no alternative.

Allura looked at him. “Lance, we’re the Paladins of Voltron. There is no-one more capable of taking this on. It has to be us.”

She got to her feet, standing straight and proud. One by one, each Paladin joined her, standing in solidarity. Lance remained seated until Coran and Shiro stood. Then, with a sigh, he reluctantly got to his feet and stood beside the woman he loved.

“Let’s do it,” he muttered.

Allura smiled at him, reaching for his hand. “Besides, the team will have our sharpshooter there to keep us safe.”

Lance’s smile was sad. “I knew that nickname was gonna catch on one of these days.”

“It’s been a long time since it was only the eight of us in a room together,” Coran said wistfully.

“Let’s make sure it’s not the last,” Keith murmured.

**************************************

Dressed in your Paladin outfits, the six of you sat in your Lions as they flew out of the Atlas. Once clear of the spacecraft, you formed Voltron, and prepared to enter the Lions’ consciousness.

Once everyone was ready, Allura said, “It is time to begin.”

All six of you punched your Bayards into your consoles together. A blinding light caused you to squeeze your eyes shut tightly. After a moment, you opened your eyes and found yourself standing in the void with the others. A tunnel of light appeared before you.

“Now what?” asked Hunk.

Keith turned to Allura. “Allura, do you feel anything?”

“We must travel through that light,” said the princess.

You looked askance at the bright light, a nervous feeling in your stomach. “How do you know?”

“The Entity draws me toward it,” replied Allura.

Without another word, she jetpacked toward the light, and after a moment’s hesitation the rest of you followed. You travelled through the light tunnel, coming out in what appeared to be a field of stars.

“What is this place?” whispered Lance. “It’s like… it’s like I can hear what the universe is thinking.”

“Remember how the Olkari told me that everything is made of the same energy?” asked Pidge, her voice reverent. “I think it has something to do with that.”

Hunk’s forehead creased in confusion. “So, thoughts are linked across some kind of, what, cosmic connection?”

“Yeah,” said Keith slowly. “But, I think _we_ are the thoughts. Inside a network of other people’s thoughts.”

Lance moaned, “Oh, this is making my head hurt.”

“Yeah, I’m actually with Lance on this one,” agreed Hunk.

Allura started to speak, only to cry out as she clutched her head in pain. The rest of you did the same, your groans drowning out every other thought that had previously been in your mind. You briefly saw a flash of Honerva, before your mind pulled back. Once the pain had subsided, all of you lay gasping for breath.

“What was that?” groaned Lance.

“It felt like cold water running down my spine,” Hunk shivered.

Allura said tonelessly, “That was Honerva.”

“What?” Lance asked in alarm.

“The Entity inside of me is connected to her,” explained the princess.

Hunk grew even more nervous.“Wait, then why did _we_ feel it?”

“It must be because we’re all connected through Voltron,” you mused.

“Yes,” agreed Allura. “The psychic link between us is now shared with Honerva. The closer we are to her, the stronger that link.”

“This is _too dangerous,”_ Lance insisted. “Honerva is gonna use the connection to find us. To find _you.”_

“No,” denied Allura. “This is how we are going to find _her._ But first I must find how to utilise this energy to do so.”

Keith’s voice was more serious than usual. “This isn’t just on you now, Princess. We’re all in this together. Maybe if we concentrate we’ll be able to feel her energy. Then we can track it back to its source. Let’s all focus.”

He grabbed your hand, and both of you closed your eyes, trying to feel Honerva’s presence. Slowly, the other Paladins followed your lead. You felt yourselves link first with your Lions, and then with each other.

Once the connection had been established, Voltron flew towards the energy all of you had felt, pulled by the link you now shared with the Altean witch.

As you travelled through the Infinite Void, Hunk said, “I can feel something. Like an energy inside me.”

“It’s the Entity,” explained Allura.

“This feeling, it’s like…” muttered Lance.

Keith’s voice was sleepy-sounding. “Like a dark realisation washing over.”

“It’s like we’re being pulled by a tether connected to our souls,” you whispered. You felt as if you could see the individual strands connecting you to the other Paladins; yours and Keith’s, red and grey, were twined about each other, before linking with the others. Green, blue, yellow and pink threads joined together with yours to form a single, multi-coloured strand.

Allura spoke. “We’re getting closer.”

Ahead, you saw a black mass of nothingness. The light swirled around it, but it was as if there was nothing but a hole in space.

Voltron entered the hole, and suddenly it lit up as if caught in a lightning storm. You realised that it wasn’t lightning, but rather appeared to be a network of nerves, like a gigantic brain. The light flashes were thoughts pulsing through the galactic synapses.

Onward Voltron flew, until eventually you once again reached an expanse of nothingness. Voltron separated into the Lions, and each of you flew side by side, travelling through the Void.

As one, the six of you exited the Lions and landed on what seemed to be a large platform of black glass, solid and impenetrable.

Hunk looked around warily. “Is this Honerva’s mind?”

Allura kicked the solid surface with the toe of her boot. “It’s on the other side of this wall.”

You shrieked as below your feet, swirling dark masses writhed on the other side of the wall. They reminded you of eels, and the thought did little to comfort you.

“What is this?” Pidge asked, in the tone of voice that people use when they don’t really want an answer to the question they’ve just asked.

Allura gasped. “It feels like… like these are the souls that Honerva has… defeated and corrupted. It’s terrible.”

Hunk groaned. “Of _course_ we’re going to have to get on the other side of the WALL!”

The last word was yelled in fright as several of the shadowy creatures appeared in front of you; wisps of black mist, whispering evilly, as they tried to grab everyone with phantom hands.

Allura screamed, and you noticed that she was being pulled through the wall. You and Keith grabbed her, but more of the creatures dragged her down. The others were also being dragged to the other side, while you and Keith desperately tried to keep them with you.

You let out a cry of anguish as you lost your grip first on Allura and then Lance, while Keith nearly howled with frustration when Pidge’s hand slipped through his fingers.

“No!” As Pidge disappeared from view, Keith transformed his Bayard into its katana form, trying with all his might to pierce through the glassy surface. You had a similar thought, striking the ground with your staff. Neither of you could even make a scratch on the surface.

Keith transformed his Bayard again, into his recently-acquired cannon, and fired repeatedly at the ground. It had absolutely no effect.

He collapsed to his knees, groaning in defeat, and you knelt beside him, weeping with despair.

The two of you stared at each other through tear-filled eyes, wondering why neither of you had been taken, and how you were going to bring the others back to you.

**************************************

Keith was once again futilely hacking at the ground with his katana. “There has to be a way in!”

You sat numbly on the ground. “We’ve tried everything, Keith. There’s nothing we can do. They’re gone.”

He stood panting heavily. “I can’t feel them.”

“Neither can I. I can only feel you. I can’t even feel the Black Lion anymore.”

You had failed, and you wept bitterly over your failure.

**************************************

Keith watched, his heart breaking, as you pounded your fists on the unyielding wall beneath you. “Please… please…” you begged, tears streaming down your cheeks.

A roar brought your head up, and you looked up at the Black Lion, crouching protectively over both of its Paladins. A grin broke over Keith’s face. “You’re back!”

You got slowly to your feet, and the two of you turned as one by one, the other Lions joined you. You stared in stunned silence when you realised that the other Paladins were standing behind you.

You raced up to your friends, Keith close on your heels.

“You guys are all right!” he cried happily, as you embraced each of them in turn.

The two of you frowned when you realised that the others hadn’t returned alone. “Wait, are they the…”

Pidge grinned. “Yep, the original Paladins.”

Four of the five original Paladins – Alfor, Gyrgan, Blaytz and Trigel – smiled at all of you. King Alfor stepped forward. “Allura!”

The princess wordlessly ran to her father, wrapping her arms around him and weeping silently as she held the man she thought had been lost forever.

The king returned her embrace. “It is fitting that I should find what is brightest to me in the darkest place.”

“All that I have done, I have done to make you proud,” she whispered happily.

“Their souls were trapped by Honerva’s dark magic,” Hunk explained as you watched the royal reunion. “When we came near Honerva’s consciousness, our connection attracted them to us. Crazy, right?”

Pidge smiled with satisfaction. “But we used that connection to free them. The Lions created a bridge, sharing old memories with new.”

A sudden flash of lightning and a searing pain hit all of you, causing you to cry out. A brief image of Honerva in front of another ro-beast appeared before your eyes.

“What’s going on?” asked King Alfor with concern as he knelt beside Allura, who was gasping in pain.

“Honerva’s connection grows,” the princess groaned. “We are very close to her now.”

The king’s eyes widened. “You hold the Dark Entity within you. Don’t you know how dangerous that is? That’s what led to Honerva and Zarkon’s end.”

Allura stood unsteadily. “I know the danger. But now I have the power to stop Honerva. You had to make a difficult choice in war by sending the Lions away. I also had to make a difficult choice.”

Alfor hung his head. The princess continued speaking. “I’m not going to be afraid to use the power I have. We need to continue.”

“But how do we get past the wall?” Lance asked softly.

Allura knelt. “It’s… it’s like I can feel her thoughts. The way through… is with the darkness.”

King Alfor’s voice was stern. “Honerva went mad, obsessed with darkness and power.”

“And now,” whispered Allura, “we must enter her mind.”

She touched her hand to the ground, and it glowed with the power emanating from within her. The light travelled across the surface, creating a familiar pattern. Allura had created a wormhole where you stood. A flash of light, and every Paladin, old and new, entered the wormhole, as did the Lions.

Time to face Honerva head on.

**************************************

Paladins old and new travelled through Allura’s wormhole, landing with a heavy thud on a rocky surface.

Hunk stood, looking around, eyes wide. “Woah. Where are we?”

King Alfor appeared stunned as he stared at the large buildings in the distance. “On Daibazaal.”

“The Galra home world?” you asked. The others shared your disbelief. You had seen the ruins of the destroyed planet with your own eyes, and yet here it was before you, standing defiantly as if it was the very centre of the universe.

“It’s pristine,” said the original Yellow Paladin, Gyrgan. “Last we were here, all was decimated.”

Allura nodded as if in understanding. “The landscape of her mind must be made up of places from her past.”

“Wait, hold up,” said Lance. “If all this is a big old Honerva thought bubble, then wouldn’t she know we’re here?”

Pidge spoke quietly. “About twenty years ago, the Garrison was able to map the human brain. They used a ventral metatronic reactor to read the theromagnetic wave signatures of each of the subjects…”

“Get to the point, Pidge,” whined Lance, his impatience with big words once more getting the better of him.

“A person’s mind is an endless landscape of constantly shifting thoughts and ideas. We must be hidden in the chaos.”

Keith looked at the tiny Paladin. “Do you know this for sure, or is this just a theory?”

“Well, it’s a theory,” admitted Pidge. “But if Honerva finds out we’re in her mind, I have a feeling we’ll know.”

“Good point.” Keith turned to the princess. “Allura, where should we go next?”

Shaking herself as if from a dream, Allura turned to look at him. “The Entity wants us to enter the Palace.”

You all followed her gaze to the top of a nearby cliff, a large waterfall cascading from the edge. There, large and imposing, stood what had once been Zarkon’s Imperial Palace.

**************************************

Allura stood in front of the tall double doors that led to the Palace. She lifted her hand and prepared to use her magic to open them. A hand reached out to stop her, and she looked up in surprise at her father.

“Allura, please listen to me,” begged King Alfor. “Alteans are life-givers. The Entity you possess is a dark, ancient evil. It is not the key to winning this war.”

“I understand your concern,” she said. “But the Entity granted us access to Honerva’s mind. Without it, your spirit would still be cursed.”

“If you are looking for real power, the ability to become a true Altean alchemist, there is a place where you can train,” the king told her.

Allura’s face fell. “Oriande. I know. I’ve been there, and passed the Guardian’s trials.”

The king’s face shone with pride. “That’s wonderful news! You were able to gain the power of Oriande.”

“It isn’t enough,” glared Allura. “That is why I must learn another method. The Entity _will_ guide us toward the answers we seek.”

“But at what cost?” Alfor asked softly.

Before Allura could answer, the door burst with an explosion. All of you ducked out of the way, bracing yourselves for an attack from a troop of Galra sentries. What you saw instead was a large purple orb of energy, similar to what the Druids and Haggar had used against you.

The floor shattered beneath Allura, and she fell through the hole with a cry.

Without warning, you found yourselves in the Lions, and facing the first ro-beast that you had encountered upon Arus, when you had first learned of your roles as the new Paladins of Voltron.

“Woah! Where did that thing come from?” demanded Lance.

“Guys, it’s the monster from Arus!” cried Hunk in recognition.

Keith didn’t hesitate. “Form Voltron!”

The five Lions flew in formation, joining together to form Voltron. Hunk looked around and noticed something missing. “Wait, where are the original Paladins?”

Before anyone could answer, the ro-beast flung its glowing orb at Voltron, who skipped out of the way. Unfortunately, the orb followed and managed to strike the giant robot in the chest, causing all of you to grunt as Voltron shook.

“What the heck was that?” Keith snarled in an offended tone.

Hunk appeared similarly perturbed. “It couldn’t do that the last time we fought it!”

“This is Honerva’s mind,” Pidge reminded them. “Anything can happen!”

“Wait, does this mean she knows we’re here?” asked Lance.

“It definitely looks like it,” you replied.

“It appears she has guardians to protect her thoughts and memories,” interjected Allura.

The ro-beast flung three orbs at you this time. Voltron brought up its shield to protect you, but the orbs hit from several sides at once, splitting the shield apart and leaving you defenceless.

Allura felt something, and joy filled her voice as she spoke again. “The original Paladins, they’re still with us!”

You and Keith gazed in awe as the original Paladins, minus Zarkon, aided you in phantom versions of their Lions. Alfor, Gyrgan, Blaytz and Trigel attacked, adding to the ro-beast’s confusion as it now had several more targets to focus on.

“Voltron, keep going!” urged Alfor. “We’ll hold off the beast!”

“Thanks for the help, Paladins,” called Keith gratefully, as the phantom Lions attacked with mouth and tail cannons.

“But where do we go?” Lance wanted to know.

Keith contacted the princess. “Any ideas, Allura?”

She closed her eyes and focused, opening them upon a single bright point in the distance. “Yes! I know what we must do!”

Voltron summoned its sword, and flew straight toward the bright pinpoint of light. It looked almost like a crack. Voltron jammed its blade into the crack, opening it up wider. Light poured in, bathing the darkness with blazing white.

When the light had cleared, you found yourselves standing together in front of what seemed to be a large temple.

Keith helped you to your feet. “Is everyone okay?”

“Yeah, I’m all right, just a bit shaken,” you murmured, as the other Paladins indicated that they were also safe.

“What the heck just happened?” Lance asked in the tone of someone who isn’t sure of what’s going on, but is very sure that they aren’t liking it.

“These are traps,” Pidge realised. “Just like that monster. They’re failsafes to protect Honerva’s secrets from any unwanted intruders. Us.”

Hunk stared at her. “What? I thought the Entity was supposed to be helping us.”

“It’s pulling us back to its source,” explained Allura. “Unfortunately, that source is being protected.”

“Great,” Lance said sarcastically. “So the thing that is guiding us might get us killed.”

“What we’re looking for is in there,” Allura pointed. You shivered as you looked into the dark, forbidding passageway leading into the heart of the temple.

You followed the princess through the tunnel, in single file, until you entered a cracked, deserted landscape on the other side. Lightning flashed in the sky above. Images of a happy Altean child floated in front of your eyes between each lightning flash.

“Honerva…” whispered Keith.

Another image, this time of a teenaged Honerva and a young-looking King Alfor. It seemed as if they were studying, books and pens scattered on the bench where they sat, laughing together.

“These must be her memories,” Allura surmised.

More glimpses of Honerva’s past – her graduation as a fully-fledged alchemist; her marriage to Zarkon; her work studying the Entity; all flashed before you, painting a picture of the woman she had once been. Before she had been corrupted. Before she became Haggar.

_You saw a fierce battle, the citizens of a planet attempting to flee from the pursuing Galra sentries. Fires blazed, and three of the original Paladins stood defiantly before Zarkon. He intoned balefully, “Where are the Lions?”_

_“They’ve been destroyed,” blustered Blaytz, the original Blue Paladin._

_Zarkon stared at him implacably. “You dare lie to me?”_

_“It’s the truth,” Trigel, the Green Paladain, told him defiantly. “You’ll never see your Lion again!”_

_“Neither will you.” The Emperor turned to walk away, and you watched with horror as Haggar slayed them where they stood, cursing their souls and turning them into the corrupted versions of themselves that the current Paladins had fought._

“She… she killed them,” Pidge muttered softly.

“What she did to them… was terrible,” Hunk said, his throat constricting with unshed tears.

Allura let the tears fall. “I always assumed they sacrificed themselves, but I… I didn’t realise what that entailed.”

“That’s how the original Paladins ended up trapped here,” you whispered, clasping Keith’s hand in an attempt to find comfort. “She took their Quintessence. Trapped their minds inside her consciousness. It drove them mad.”

“He was the leader of Voltron,” Keith snarled, his voice filled with hurt at Zarkon’s betrayal of the original Paladins. “He just… turned on them.”

Allura’s hand glowed with dark magic. “That is why we must destroy Honerva.”

“Allura, please,” Lance begged. “What we just saw… it was all because of the Entity. The same one that’s inside you. You need to get rid of it.”

Keith walked up to Lance. “If Allura loses the Entity, then we lose our connection to Honerva.”

You placed a hand on your friend’s shoulder. “We won’t let what happened to Honerva happen to Allura.”

Lance nodded, trying to believe your words.

Allura walked away from the group, spreading her arms wide, as if summoning the lightning to her. Another bright flash, and suddenly you found yourselves surrounded by a tangle of what looked like vines, but you recognised them as nerves. You were even further within Honerva’s mind.

“Now where are we?” asked Hunk nervously.

Keith gently pushed him aside. “Stand back.”

Summoning his katana, he sliced through the closest nerves. Instantly, you saw Honerva turn to face you, a glower on her face. She placed a hand on a kneeling Altean, as if in benediction. She addressed a crowd of Alteans, all cheering her wildly.

Keith pulled back, his eyes wide with shock at what he had just witnessed.

“The deeper we get into her mind, the more recent the memories,” Pidge said.

“Good,” Allura said firmly. She transformed her own Bayard, slicing through more nerves. You saw Honerva creating a wormhole; sending the ro-beasts to attack various planets; the fight against Voltron.

Following Allura’s lead, the rest of you attacked the nerves surrounding you, hacking and slashing and firing at any and every nerve you saw. More visions appeared, this time of her standing before the fallen Sincline mech, and then the decaying body of her son.

“Lotor,” she said in a monotone. “We will all be together soon.”

The images stopped, and were replaced by a sinister whispering, which hissed and slithered around you like a manevolent serpent. You were standing in the midst of murky clouds swirling around you, the mist chilling your very bones.

“Pidge, any idea what part of her brain we’re in now?” asked Hunk.

“No, I’m not sure.” Pidge sounded frightened.

 _Voltron._ That sounded like Honerva’s voice.

 _Voltron!_ She sounded more desperate.

All of you fell to your knees, pressing your hands to your ears in an attempt to stop the onslaught of thoughts Honerva was throwing at you.

_I will find you._

_This flame represents Lotor._

_My son._

_The end for anyone who opposes us._

_Rise, and avenge my son._

Allura reached out. “Keith! Grab my hand!”

He did as Allura bid, and both of them began to glow softly as their connection was re-established. Keith grabbed your hand, infusing you with their strength.

“Hunk!” you called. “Over here!”

The Yellow Paladin latched onto you as if you were his lifeline, before the princess spoke again as she reached for Lance. “Everyone! Feel the energy of the Entity within you! Don’t fight it! Let it guide you!”

Slowly, Pidge joined her hands to Hunk’s, and the six of you floated in a chain through Honerva’s consciousness, hoping desperately that this was not the end for you.

**************************************

You awoke in a field of beautiful flowers, their ruby-red petals waving in the wind. The sweet scent filled your nostrils, and you suddenly felt rejuvenated. Getting to your feet, you looked out at the large moon overhead.

The princess stared around her in wonder. “Altea… it looks… _different._ ”

So you were now on Allura’s – and Honerva’s – home world. It was breathtaking.

“This must be the way Honerva remembers it,” Pidge ventured slowly. “It must be a place she holds dear. We should be close.”

Lance put his hands on his hips. “Ugh. I wonder what kind of weird, freaky thing is going to attack us here.”

All of you gave startled yelps as a loud thud sounded behind you. Turning, you looked up to see an enormous mech reminiscent of Zarkon’s armour looming over you menacingly.

“You just had to ask, didn’t you?” you threw at your friend, who merely squeaked with fright.

The Zarkon-mech summoned an enormous sword.

“Find safety!” ordered Keith. “I’ll distract it!”

“You’re going to _what?”_ you shrieked, your heart clenching in fear at your reckless beloved’s serious lack of self-preservation.

Lance appeared to have similar reservations about Keith’s plan. “What? No way!”

Keith glared at the two of you. “Just go!”

Before you could object further, he jetpacked towards the enormous mech, leaving the rest of you to scatter in different directions in the hope that you could avoid being destroyed by this latest monstrosity.

Keith stood defiantly before the mech. “You were their leader! They trusted you! And you betrayed them! You don’t deserve the Black Lion!”

Zarkon, enraged, swung his sword down toward Keith, who merely stood there, awaiting his doom.

Before the blade could slice him in half, however, a glowing bubble appeared above him, providing him with a protective shield which caused the blade to bounce harmlessly away.

The Black Lion, which had up to this point been absent, roared in defiance as it appeared behind Keith. One by one, the other Lions roared as they joined the head of Voltron. You and the others were once more in the pilots seats, the Lions summoning you with their spirits.

All five Lions flew overhead, joining together and landing back on the ground as Voltron.

The Zarkon-mech unfurled a large pair of wings, similar to Voltron’s Ephemeral Wings, and attacked with its chain-whip. Voltron struggled against the bonds, and each Paladin groaned in pain as purple lightning flashed through the cockpits.

“Hunk,” gasped Keith. “Shoulder cannon!”

“I can’t!” wailed Hunk, trapped in the pilot’s seat of the Yellow Lion.

Voltron was brought to its knees by the whip, the lightning drawing its energy away. Before you were destroyed entirely, however, a bright beam of light appeared, and the original Paladins and the spectral Lions appeared once more. They stood protectively in front of Voltron, roaring in defiance as Zarkon glared at them.

Voltron was suddenly lifted into the air, and the spectral Lions joined their spirits to yours, increasing the strength of the robot defender considerably.

Voltron’s chest glowed, and you watched in amazement as what looked like a wormhole appeared. A bright beam shot out from Voltron’s chest, striking the Zarkon-mech and forcing it backward in a cloud of dust. When the dust cleared, you saw Zarkon on the ground, struggling to regain his footing.

“Form sword!” Keith ordered, and Voltron’s sword was summoned.

Voltron flew straight towards Zarkon, strengthened by the presence of all the Paladins, old and new. Voltron’s blade struck Zarkon in the centre of the chest, piercing the mech and causing it to crack and splinter as it was engulfed in a blaze of white light. The mech exploded in a shower of sparks.

As Voltron stood, you gazed down at the still, silent form below. The Zarkon-mech disappeared, and in its place stood the spectral Black Lion and the uncorrupted original Black Paladin.

The Lions separated once more, and all the Paladins exited. The original Paladins stood before Zarkon, staring at their leader as he had been before the corruption of the Quintessence field and the Dark Entity.

Zarkon gasped with apparent delight. “Alfor! Blaytz, Gyrgan, Trigel!”

His gaze fell upon the rest of you, and he gasped again. “Mellinor? What are you doing here?”

Allura scowled. “Mellinor was my mother, and you murdered her! You’ve killed millions!”

She raced towards Zarkon, who stood as if rooted to the spot, his expression stricken. She grabbed his head in her hands, filling his head with images of what he had done.

“Allura! What are you doing?” Lance cried in alarm.

“Reminding him of the suffering he’s caused!” she hissed, her eyes blazing with hatred.

She finally released him, and he fell to his knees with a scream of anguish. It sounded as if his heart had been completely broken. “No…”

Allura glared down at him without remorse or pity. “ _You_ did all that. All of it!”

“I’m sorry,” the Emperor panted. “I didn’t realise what I was…”

“You knew _exactly_ what you were doing,” Allura interjected angrily. “You deceived and betrayed your friends and allies!”

Tears streamed down Zarkon’s face. “The Quintessence… it blinded me. And you all suffered because of it.”

This Zarkon was nothing like the soulless Emperor you had faced so many times before. This was a broken man, a man filled with compassion and remorse for what he had done. You had no doubt that before you was the real Zarkon, the man he should always have been. The man who had once been worthy of the Black Lion.

“If you’re truly sorry for what you’ve done, then help us stop her,” Allura said forcefully. “You _must_ have been placed here to protect something. What is it?”

“I… don’t know,” Zarkon replied, sounding confused. “I’m sorry.”

Allura stamped her foot. “What are you protecting?”

“I don’t…” Zarkon hesitated, then turned his head to stare at the blood-red moon on the horizon. “That moon… it is a moon of Daibazaal.”

“He is right,” Alfor confirmed. “That moon is not of Altea.”

Allura’s scowl deepened. “ _That_ is the source.”

Suddenly, the Black Lion roared, and fired its mouth cannon at the Daibazaal moon. For a few seconds, all went black. Then, the moon exploded in a fiery ball of rock and ash, raining down on the surface of the planet where you all stood.

Glowing golden orbs of Quintessence floated down upon you, and you held out your hand in wonder. Happier visions floated above you, showing Honerva and Zarkon when they were in the early days of their romance. Then happy family images, of the Galra Emperor and his queen, lovingly gazing at the face of their infant son. A coronation ceremony for the new Empress. The loving acceptance of the Galra people for their Altean-born queen. Emperor Zarkon happily playing with the young prince.

“No, it’s impossible,” whispered Allura, staring at the images before her.

“Is this how Honerva really remembers things, or is it how she wishes they had been?” you asked, knowing that what you were seeing was a vivid distortion of the reality you had all known.

“They are her deepest desires,” Zarkon replied. “Everything she hopes to achieve.”

“How could she possibly achieve any of this?” asked Hunk, his tone both confused and worried. “Zarkon and Lotor are both… gone.”

“Unless…” Pidge gasped in realisation. “She’s going to use Lotor’s ship to pierce realities and find the one where she can live with her family.”

You stared at her in horror as Hunk asked, “Is that even possible?”

Pidge looked more serious than you had ever seen her. “Not without destroying all other realities in the process.”

A sudden gust of wind blew all of you backwards, the force seemingly that of a tornado. You struggled to stay on your feet as it howled around you.

“What’s going on?” Lance cried.

“She knows you’re here!” Zarkon exclaimed.

“How?” demanded Hunk.

Allura fell to her knees with a sharp cry, clutching her head in agony. Lance and Alfor both ran to her. Lance panicked. “What’s happening to her?”

Zarkon looked at him. “The princess holds the Entity within. Honerva controls it now.”

Keith barked, “Everyone, get to your Lions!”

Before you could move, the Lions vanished. Keith’s jaw dropped, unable to believe that the Lions had abandoned all of you in your time of need. “Where did they go?”

“You’re in her mind,” Zarkon reminded him. “She is more powerful here.”

Blackness surrounded you as the wind continued to howl. You started hyperventilating. “What do we do?”

“There’s nothing you can do, but accept defeat,” said Zarkon.

Keith glared as if he had just been personally insulted. “No! We won’t give up!”

Zarkon nodded approvingly. “That’s your Galra lineage. It’s what makes you a great leader of Voltron. You and I share that trait. But look where it has led the two of us. My desire for unlimited Quintessence was the catalyst for ten thousand years of destruction. Your quest to save the universe took you into the mind of a psychopath.”

“Yes,” agreed Keith. “To gain the knowledge of what she’s doing. And now we know.”

“Yet you still don’t know how!” Zarkon cried. “She’s too powerful.”

King Alfor stood, having watched this exchange silently. “Zarkon. Honerva may be more powerful than each of us alone, but the strength of all the Paladins working together as one is the strongest force in the universe.”

“The Lions are gone, Alfor!” said Zarkon, stalking towards the Altean. “Voltron is gone forever!”

“No! Voltron _isn’t_ gone!” you insisted. “Voltron is within each and every one of us! We’re bonded to it. And to each other!”

Keith smiled at you proudly, reminded of the first time you urged the Paladins to work together to save the universe, all those years ago on Arus. You still knew how to get people to believe in themselves, even when you doubted yourself.

“We have one last chance to set things right, but we cannot do it without you,” Alfor told his friend. “Ride with us one last time, Zarkon.”

The former Emperor looked down at his feet, doubt and worry filling his face. Then, he lifted his face determinedly, and summoned his Bayard, which took the form of a Galra blade. “Form Voltron!”

As one, you found yourselves in your Lions once more. You felt Zarkon’s presence with you and Keith in the Black Lion, and the other Paladins were no doubt joined by their predecessors. The spectral Lions joined together with the physical ones, and Voltron again flew in the swirling winds of Honerva’s mind.

“Form blazing sword!” ordered Zarkon, and an enormous blade, glowing with red-hot flame, appeared in Voltron’s hand.

Voltron flew towards the eery black orb overhead, which contained Honerva’s most secretive thoughts and memories. Lightning cracked as she tried to keep you from entering the darkest recesses of her mind. With the blazing sword, Voltron pierced through the solid wall protecting Honerva’s mind, and it exploded, shattered by the strength of every Paladin infusing their spirit into the robot defender and its weapons.

Keith opened his eyes slowly, staring at the empty space before him. It seemed that you were now back in the real world.

“We did it!” Pidge congratulated everyone.

“Nice work, team,” Keith said solemnly.

Lance called to the princess. “Allura, are you okay?”

There was no response. You tried to contact her. “Allura?”

Each member of the team tried in turn, to no avail. Keith’s voice conveyed his worry. “Allura, do you copy?”

Still no response. Something was very wrong.


	8. Dangerous Obsession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite the efforts of Voltron and the Atlas crew, Honerva continues to search for a reality where she will be reunited with her dead family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter correlates to Series 8, Episode 11 “Uncharted Regions”

The Paladins crowded around Allura’s hospital bed, where she lay comatose following the trip through the Infinite Void and into the inner workings of Honerva’s mind. Lance held her hand, worry lines marring his normally cheerful face; Pidge and Hunk chewed their nails anxiously; you crossed your arms in front of your chest as you tried to keep the worried frown from your face; and even Keith seemed frightened of her condition.

Coran had rushed to her side the moment she had been carried, unconscious, from the Blue Lion. “What happened to her?”

“It was the Entity,” Keith replied. “Honerva was able to use it against her.”

“I told her infiltrating Honerva’s mind was too dangerous.” Coran seemed on the verge of tears as he rounded on all of you. “I told you all!”

“She’s going to pull through,” Lance said, his voice sounding far more confident than he felt.

“How do you know?” Coran demanded.

The loudspeaker beeped, and Shiro’s voice echoed through the room. “Paladins, to the bridge.”

**************************************

The five of you joined Shiro, Veronica and Iverson on the bridge, gazing at the star charts displayed on the screens.

“Honerva’s been off the grid since we left Oriande,” said Shiro. “Until now.”

A small triangle starting bleeping in the middle of the star chart. “We just detected a wormhole signature at coordinates Beta-Four-X-Seven. Unfortunately, without Allura’s ability to wormhole, we’ll never get to her.”

Your heart sank.

**************************************

Keith stood at the front of the Situation Room, feeling uncomfortable with the eyes of everyone on him. Besides the Paladins, MFE pilots and regular Atlas command crew, in attendance were also Romelle and Coran, as well as Acxa, Kolivan and Krolia. The Blade leader and Keith’s mother had joined you after Keith contacted them to warn of Honerva’s plan.

He flicked his eyes to you, and you gave him a smile of encouragement. Taking a deep breath, he calmed his nerves.

“We now know why Honerva retrieved Lotor’s mech,” he said. “Since it’s made out of the same comet ore as Voltron, it has the ability to pierce realities. Honerva is going to use Lotor’s mech to find _her_ version of a perfect reality.”

Romelle blinked, dumbfounded. “Perfect reality? Does that even exist?”

Lance looked downcast. “She’s searching for it right now. And _if_ if exists, she’ll find it.”

Pidge spoke. “The problem is, the trans-reality ore has been travelling between realities for millions of years. And it’s a naturally occurring phenomenon. What Honerva is doing is _forcing_ that process to happen, which could have catastrophic side effects on this and any reality she travels through.”

“So what’s the plan?” Hunk asked. “Maybe we can… we can make a giant tractor beam. Sam, you could do that, right? Make a giant tractor beam? We could pull her to us and then blow her up with… with a star bomb! Pidge? A star bomb?”

“There _is_ no plan, Hunk,” Lance told him despondently. “We know what Honerva wants to do but, we can’t get to her. And even if we could, she has the ability to wormhole away. Without Allura, we can’t chase her. And we can’t form Voltron.”

“Well, we have to do _something_ ,” you urged.

Keith nodded. “We’ll prepare for battle. We have to be ready to face Honerva.”

Krolia spoke. “We’ve been tracking a Galra fleet within our vicinity. Our intel shows they have a Zaiforge cannon. Maybe Kolivan and I could take a small team and commandeer the ship.”

“Why don’t you take Commander Lahn and try to recruit them to our side?” suggested Keith, remembering the Galra Warlord currently residing in the brig of the Atlas. “We don’t want to fight more battles than we have to.”

Commander Holt spoke. “In the meantime, Slav and I have been working on prototype upgrades for the Atlas’s weapons system. Of course, we’ll somehow have to find extra power for them.”

Slav crossed his arms, all four pairs, with a humph. “Always making the most amazing things in the universe, but never having enough power to run them.”

“New weapons?” Pidge’s face lit up. “I’ll give you guys a hand with that.”

“And I may know where we can get the extra power,” Coran said. “There’s a small Balmera in this territory.”

Hunk grinned. “All right! Little trip to a Balmera. We’ll take the Yellow Lion.”

“And Romelle,” Coran added. “I’ve been training her in Altean customs. She’ll be quite helpful in communicating with the Balmera.”

He smiled encouragingly at the blonde Altean, and she returned his smile with a gracious one of her own.

Keith smiled. “Good idea. Everyone, let’s stay focussed on what we can accomplish.”

As the others left the Situation Room, Lance remained in his seat, arms crossed and a worried frown on his face. You and Keith went up to him.

“She’s gonna be okay,” Keith said softly.

“I hope so.”

You wrapped your arms around your friend, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek. A brief flicker of jealousy, immediately suppressed, flashed across your life-bond. Keith knew your love for Lance was purely platonic. It was only the life-bond which didn’t seem to understand that.

“We need to stop Honerva,” said Lance. “This force of evil that’s been around for ten thousand years. She has a plan that could destroy every reality, and all we’ve come up with is additional manpower and a prototype weapon.”

“I know it’s not ideal,” Keith told him as he sat down next to Lance. “But when is the last time anything has been ideal?”

A soft smile appeared on your face. “Remember when we first arrived at the Castle of Lions? When we first met Allura? She told us we were the answer to saving the universe. But she didn’t know that for sure. But Allura _believed_ , and she needed us to believe. And it worked.”

“And back then, I was cocky enough to believe I was the greatest pilot in the universe,” Lance replied with a rueful chuckle.

Keith looked at both of you. “And I thought I could do everything myself. We’ve come a long way since then.”

“Yeah, we have,” Lance agreed.

Keith stood. “We haven’t lost until we’ve lost hope.”

Lance also got to his feet, looking his team leader in the eye. “I haven’t given up. Let’s finish what we started.”

The two of them shook hands, before you threw your arms about both of them, hugging them fiercely.

“I _knew_ you two would end up BFF’s!” you said smugly, planting a noisy kiss on their cheeks.

“Don’t tell Griffin,” Lance grinned. “He’ll be upset he’s not part of the BFF squad.”

“My lips are sealed,” you promised, as the three of you left to prepare for your mission to stop Honerva.

**************************************

You and Keith stood on the bridge of the Atlas, watching the Yellow Lion head toward the Balmera.

Veronica called out, “We’ve got another wormhole signature!”

“That’s the fifth one we’ve identified in the last hour,” Shiro muttered worriedly. “Have you been able to find out any patterns to these locations?”

“Negative, Sir,” replied Curtis. “Nothing new.”

Iverson growled. “Is Honerva sending those beasts of hers out across the universe again?”

“It could be,” you said. “Or… it could be her.”

You jumped as Iverson banged his fist on his console. “There has to be more we can do!”

“I wish there was,” Keith told him. “But without Allura it could take us days, maybe weeks to get to Honerva. For now, all we can do is wait and watch.”

_‘That’s never been your strong point, Flyboy,’_ you thought teasingly.

You felt the mental sigh that Keith directed at you. _‘I don’t really have a choice right now. We have to wait and see what her next move is.’_

Shiro appeared to be in a similar frame of mind. “What is she up to?”

Curtis studied his data charts, frowning as he seemed to recognise something. “Hang on. Veronica, cross-check those latest coordinates with our patrol squadrons.”

Lance’s sister did as requested. “It appears we have a long-range scout in the area. Zulu-Beta-One-One.”

“Get me on comms with the Squadron Commander immediately,” Shiro ordered.

Once patched through, Shiro spoke. “Commander Ozar, we need your team to do some reconnaissance for us.”

“Yes, Captain,” came the reply.

“We’re sending you coordinates now. This is an intelligence gathering mission. Keep your distance and run only essential systems. Do not engage. We’re dealing with Honerva.”

“Copy that, Sir.”

**************************************

You watched the vid-screen nervously as Commander Ozar’s team headed towards the coordinates provided by Shiro. Keith grabbed your hand when he noticed you chewing your nails, lacing his fingers through yours and giving your hand a squeeze in the hopes that he could calm you. You glanced at him as he stared resolutely at the screen before him. If he was as anxious as you were, he wasn’t showing it.

Ozar’s navigator brought up the image of Honerva’s ship. It reminded you somewhat of the Castle of Lions, although this structure was far more angular than the elegant looking Castleship had been.

As the fleet came around behind the ship to investigate further, you saw that there was a teludav, which was obviously how Honerva was creating the wormholes. And floating between the teludav and the ship, looking more ominous than ever, was the Sincline mech.

Commander Ozar contacted the Atlas, but got no more than a few words out before his ship was rocked by a blast. They were being attacked by more of the ro-beasts that were piloted by Alteans.

One ro-beast pursued them as they attempted to flee through the asteroid field. Their evasive manoeuvres proved fruitless, as the ro-beast easily avoided the asteroids, or simply sliced right through them.

Ozar’s ships opened fire, and the ro-beast retaliated. One ship was sliced in half by its scimitars, and another was hit into an oncoming asteroid, exploding on impact.

“Two ships down!” Curtis confirmed, as the casualties appeared in red on the vid-screen.

“They need to get out of there!” Keith cried urgently.

Shiro attempted to contact what remained of the fleet. “Commander Ozar, do you copy?”

“Fall back!” you heard him say over the comms. “Fall…”

A scream, which was immediately cut off by an explosion. The line of communication went dead.

“We’ve lost connection!” Veronica reported.

You stared, eyes full of tears, as the vid-screen lit up in red. So many lives lost, and for what? It was beginning to look hopeless.

Keith escorted you from the bridge, hoping that he could prevent you from spiralling further into despair. He needed you to be strong. You gave him strength, and if you lost hope then he would as well.

Even though he felt in his heart that there was no hope left.

**************************************

You had eventually calmed down after a cup of caf and a good cry, and returned to the bridge with Keith and Pidge. Shiro had been advising the three of you about what he had discovered, when the door to the bridge opened, and Lance walked in with the princess. She still looked incredibly frail, but her face was determined.

“Allura!” cried Shiro happily. “It’s great to have you back. How are you feeling?”

She looked steadily at him. “A little weak, but I’ll manage.”

Keith’s expression was apologetic. “I hate to throw all this on you at once, but we don’t have much time. We need to get to Altea’s coordinates immediately. Honerva is already there.”

“What about Hunk and Coran?” asked Pidge.

“Veronica, open up a channel to the Yellow Lion,” Shiro requested. She patched him through. “Hunk, this is the Atlas. What’s your status?”

Hunk’s happy face appeared on the vid-screen, with Romelle, Tavos and several villagers behind him. “Hey guys! Good news. We found a new Balmera _and_ new Balmerans.”

The Balmerans looked far different to Shay and her people. These were more feline in feature, slender and graceful looking.

“We’re having a little trouble finding a big enough crystal,” Hunk continued. “But don’t worry. Coran came up with a crazy plan that just might work.”

Coran began to rapidly assure everyone that his plan was the opposite of crazy, when Allura interrupted him. “Do what you must. I can wormhole you to our location whenever you’re ready.”

“Attention, crew,” Shiro announced. “Ready the Atlas for wormhole jump. MFE squadron, prepare for launch on my command. This is not a drill.”

The Paladins braced themselves, and Allura placed her hands on the wormhole generator. You briefly worried that she was not yet strong enough, however the princess managed to create a wormhole. The Atlas travelled through it, and in the blink of an eye you found yourselves staring directly at Honerva’s ship.

Every jaw dropped at the sight before you. Above each of the four spires of the ship was a wormhole. Directly above the main part of the ship was the Sincline-mech which housed Lotor’s decaying corpse. Adjacent to it was another mech, more Galran in design, reminiscent of Zarkon’s mech. Inside this mech lay Honerva.

“What’s she doing?” you asked.

“I don’t know,” answered Shiro. “But we’re going to stop her.”

“Paladins, get to your Lions!” Keith commanded. “Allura, you’ll need to wait until Hunk and Coran are ready to return. We need Voltron as soon as possible!”

The Black, Red and Green Lions left the Atlas, determined to put an end to Honerva’s plan before it was too late.

Several ro-beasts defended her, attacking with blades and lasers. The Lions responded in kind, firing mouth and tail cannons and dodging the swinging scimitars. Neither side appeared to gain the upper hand, although the ro-beasts were successfully preventing any of the Paladins from getting through.

“We’ll draw their fire,” Shiro told you over the comms. “Paladins, get to Honerva.”

“Copy that,” Keith confirmed. “Fall back to me! Let’s take another pass.”

Lance and Pidge fell in alongside you as the Lions once again tried to get to Honerva.

The Atlas fired its cannon towards Honerva’s ship, but one of the ro-beasts brought up a particle barrier to protect it.

“Atlas, come in!” Hunk called. “We’re ready to head back.”

“Activating the…” Allura’s reply was cut off with a pained cry. She fell to her knees, hearing Honerva’s voice in her mind.

Somehow, Honerva had connected with the minds of the captive Alteans aboard the Atlas, and they had escaped their prison and stormed the bridge. Overpowering Shiro, they transferred their Quintessence into the diamond which was powering the ship, and then transferred all of that energy in a single beam toward Honerva.

The energy hit the spires of the ship, and the four smaller wormholes converged to create one enormous wormhole above the ship.

You stared, firstly in horror at what Honerva was doing, and then in disbelief as one of the ro-beasts appeared to turn on her. It fired its powerful beam at the ship, hitting the closest spire and thereby deactivating the smaller wormhole above it. This in turn diminished the power of the larger wormhole, and both Sincline mechs were prevented from entering the wormhole as a result.

Honerva did not appear to take kindly to the ro-beast’s change of heart. She fired upon it with the fused mech, disintegrating her own weapon before it could ruin her plan.

Power aboard the Atlas faltered as the Alteans collapsed, one after the other, before going out altogether.

Somehow, Allura struggled to her feet, activating the wormhole to bring the Yellow Lion back. Hunk confirmed that he and Coran had returned, and had brought a friend with them.

Shiro smiled with relief when the Balmera came through the wormhole. “Good timing.”

He turned to Veronica. “Contact Sam and Slav, and tell them to prepare the weapon for the crystal.”

Shiro stood as Veronica contacted Commander Holt and Slav, before addressing another crew member. “Get the Alteans to the medbay. We have a chance.”

Unfortunately, Honerva noticed the Balmera’s arrival. She sent blades from her mech flying towards the gentle creature, missing the Black Lion by what appeared to be mere inches. The blades hit the surface of the Balmera, and you heard its pained cries. The blades began to glow, and they drew the very Quintessence from the Balmera itself.

“No!” you cried, your heart breaking at the thought of the agony the poor creature was suffering at Honerva’s hand.

The other Paladins echoed your cry as the energy from the Balmera struck Honerva’s ship, reactivating the wormholes above the spires, and regenerating the gigantic wormhole in the centre of them as well as both mechs.

Keith gave a snarl of rage. “Paladins, attack!”

He punched the Black Lion forward, and the others followed without hesitation. They punched their way through the ro-beasts, their anger driving them forward. Black’s mouth cannon fired upon Honerva, but her mech brought up a shield to protect her.

Hunk fired upon her, and her mech sent several of the blades hurtling towards the Yellow Lion, knocking it aside easily. The other Lions had also been disabled, and were now floating helplessly in the space surrounding Honerva’s ship.

Black once again flew towards her, and dodged several of the blades before one struck true, causing it to spin wildly while Keith fought to bring it back under control. You activated the jaw blade, but before either of you could engage, the Black Lion was struck in the side by another of Honerva’s blades. Black floated helplessly away from Honerva’s ship, rendered useless.

Everyone watched in horror as both mechs fused together. The wing blades began to spin wildly, creating a vivid purple-black circle behind it.

It seemed that Honerva had won.


	9. Everything I Never Wanted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Honerva has managed to open a rift in reality, and the Paladins must draw on their everlasting bond – and a few Balmera – to try and stop her from destroying the universe and everything they hold dear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter based on Series 8, Episode 12 “The Zenith”

Keith struggled to open his eyes. He saw the Lions drifting listlessly in space while Honerva’s fused mech hovered menacingly in front of them. He glanced over his shoulder at you, relief washing over him when he saw you sit up with a wince. “You all right there, sweetheart?”

“I’ll live,” you grunted.

“Paladins, report status,” Keith said, hoping that everyone was safe.

Lance’s voice immediately responded. “I’m offline.”

“Me, too,” Pidge reported unhappily.

Hunk blinked, then nervously said, “Uh, guys, are you seeing this?”

“What are those things doing?” Lance asked in consternation, staring at the wildly spinning wing blades of the mech. Lightning crackled violently, seeming to charge the wings with energy.

“That’s how she’s getting in,” Pidge murmured.

“What do you mean?” you demanded.

“Honerva,” explained Pidge. “She’s using those wings to pierce the barriers between realities. It’s her entry point.”

You heard Shiro’s voice. “Allura, come in! Are you there?”

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when the princess answered. “Shiro, I read you. Honerva combined her beast with Lotor’s Sincline. She has the comet ore, and with it the ability to reverse realities. I’m headed to my Lion now.”

“Our universe is collapsing,” wailed Coran. “Just like the day we lost the Castle of Lions. Those wings are causing the very fabric of our reality to disintegrate!”

The Yellow Lion came back online, and Hunk’s voice was full of certainty. “Then we’re gonna stop that thing before it breaks through. Yellow Lion’s back!”

“Hunk, get your passengers back to the Atlas,” commanded Keith.

The Yellow Lion moved toward the Atlas. “Copy that.”

You watched in disbelief as the three remaining ro-beasts were reactivated. They flew towards the Atlas and the still motionless Lions. “Those ro-beasts are headed our way!”

Pidge let out a cry of relief as the Green Lion lit up. “Just in time! My Lion’s responding!”

Red let out a roar, and Lance said, “Mine too.”

Finally, the Black Lion awoke, moving to join the other two Lions. Keith contacted the princess. “Allura, do you copy? Can you get to your Lion? We’re gonna need Voltron.”

“Hold on, I’m coming,” Allura assured him.

“In the meantime, the Atlas has you covered,” Shiro added.

Coran’s voice was heard over the comms. “Wait! What about the collapsing universe? We need to stop it!”

“Coran, we’re counting on you to figure something out,” Keith told him.

Despite the severity of the situation, you couldn’t help the giggle that escaped you when Coran began protesting about Keith’s confidence in his abilities. “What? _Me?_ I don’t know anything about that!”

“Then find someone who does!” Keith retorted, before ending the conversation. He addressed the Paladins. “We need to stop that weapon before it breaks through realities. Paladins, do everything you can to keep the ro-beasts distracted. Let’s give the Atlas a shot.”

“Atlas crew, prepare for transformation sequence!” Shiro barked.

Working in tandem, the Blue Lion fired its mouth cannon at one of the ro-beasts, while Hunk used the Yellow Lion to ram the ro-beast as hard as he could. It tumbled head over feet for several seconds, before twirling its twin scimitars menacingly as it headed back toward them.

Keith activated the Black Lion’s jaw blade as well as the Ephemeral Wings, and you flew straight through the ro-beast in spectral form, reappearing as a solid Lion on the other side. “Guys, I’m going in to stop Honerva!”

“What!” you shrieked as he flew towards the fused mech. “Keith, are you crazy? We can’t take her on by ourselves!”

“This is the best chance we can give the Atlas,” he replied, refusing to look at you. “If we don’t distract Honerva, they won’t have a shot at taking her down at all.”

“Okay, you’re right. We need to give the Atlas every chance we can,” you reluctantly agreed. “Let’s do this. But if we survive, I’m going to kill you.”

“Duly noted,” he said through gritted teeth.

As the Black Lion approached the mech, it lifted a hand and aimed a purple lightning orb at you. As you went spectral, you heard Honerva’s voice echo in your mind. “Still!”

Black was caught within the orb, the purple lightning holding it motionless as you tried futilely to escape.

“No!” hissed Keith, as the cockpit was filled with purple lightning.

Giving you no opportunity to react, the mech smashed its fist against the orb, sending the Black Lion flying back, as if it were nothing but an annoying insect.

The Yellow Lion distracted another ro-beast, dodging out of the way as it struck with its scimitar. “Now, Pidge!”

The Green Lion fired upon the wormhole created by the mech’s wings. Pidge was so focussed on what she was doing that she failed to notice the oncoming ro-beast until it was about to strike.

The Black Lion charged, knocking the ro-beast away before it could damage the Green Lion. Keith’s fury was tempered by his wish to preserve the lives of his team-mates. Where once he would have continued the attack, now he opted for a strategic retreat. “Fall back!”

The Lions flew out of range, just as the Atlas completed its transformation into its mech-form. The Atlas-mech attacked Honerva’s mech, but the most it appeared to be doing was holding her at bay. It didn’t seem to making any significant impact.

While the witch was distracted, Shiro called out, “Allura! Now’s your chance!”

The Blue Lion flew out of the Atlas, heading towards the rest of you.

Yellow ducked out of the way just as one of the ro-beasts fired upon it. Your voice was filled with agitation. “We can’t get past them!”

“So we’re gonna have to defeat them!” Keith said determinedly. “Paladins, on me! Form Voltron!”

Once the robot defender had been formed, you flew towards the ro-beasts, blade drawn and shield up.

“Remember, those weapons can siphon our energy,” Allura reminded everyone. “So we need to avoid a direct hit.”

Voltron and the ro-beast traded blow after blow, neither seemingly able to gain control of the attack.

“Pidge, arm cannon!” Keith ordered.

The Green Paladin did as instructed, summoning the cannon and firing a blast directly through the centre of the ro-beast. It was sent backwards in a shower of fiery sparks, but was not destroyed.

Before you could attack again, another ro-beast flew towards you. To your astonishment, however, instead of attacking Voltron, it attacked the first ro-beast.

“The Altean!” you cried.

“Why is she helping us?” asked Lance in confusion.

Keith drew Voltron’s sword back, but before he could strike, the Altean contacted you.

“Please, do not harm them,” she begged. “They were misguided, much like I was. We all were.”

Keith changed his mind, switching from his intention to destroy the ro-beasts. Voltron struck the first ro-beast, but rather than trying to kill, the blade sliced open the cockpit. The pilot drifted, unconscious, as you checked his vitals.

“Pilot capsule still intact,” you reported.

A blast from Honerva’s mech brought your attention back to the main fight. She was locked in battle with the Atlas-mech, her rage increasing as she realised that yet another ro-beast pilot had turned against her. She punched the mech, sending it backward.

The remaining ro-beast which was still loyal to Honerva once more attacked Voltron, striking with both scimitars simultaneously, as well as firing its lasers. Voltron retaliated, striking blow after blow with its blade. Voltron was sent reeling backwards, but before the ro-beast could attack again, it was pushed back by the ro-beast which had switched sides. As it was preparing itself to return fire, Voltron sliced it through the middle with its sword, completely disabling it.

“Final ro-beast out of commission,” Keith reported as the Atlas continued its fight with Honerva.

Honvera’s mech grabbed the Atlas, holding it steady as she prepared to destroy it once and for all.

Her distraction allowed Griffin and the other the MFE pilots to escort a transport containing Slav, Coran and several others to the pyramid structure, in the hopes that they could repair the rift damage in a similar way to when Voltron had re-emerged from the Quintessence field.

Voltron flew towards the rift hole, taking advantage of Honerva’s distraction. Keith called out, “Hunk, form cannon!”

The shoulder cannon appeared, and Hunk groaned as Voltron started shuddering as it drew closer. “I’ve got lock!”

He fired, and for a moment the universe went black.

**************************************

There was an explosion, but to everyone’s dismay, the rift hole was still visible. The cannon had absolutely no effect. The fused mech stood in front of it, as both Voltron and the Atlas drifted away, temporarily disabled by the explosion.

“Honerva has pierced realities,” said Allura weakly.

The mech lifted its hand, and the wing blades ceased rotating. The rift glowed with an incandescent light, brighter than any you’d seen. Silently, the mech turned and entered the rift, Honerva intent on living in her perfect reality.

“Come on,” Keith urged, determined to follow before the rift collapsed. “We’re going in! Atlas, stay on me!”

“I-I-I’m afraid the Atlas can’t do that!” stammered Coran.

“Coran’s right,” Pidge said. “It isn’t made out of the same ore. It can’t traverse realities.”

Keith growled in frustration. “Then we’re going in alone.”

“Actually, that appears to be problematic as well,” Slav said almost apologetically.

“What?” groaned Keith.

The little alien replied, “The statistical likelihood of Voltron succeeding against Honerva in a one-on-one battle is well below improbable.”

“We’ll have a better chance than if we don’t try at all!” you retorted, your feelings mirroring Keith’s. You would do whatever it took to stop the witch’s madness, even if you died in the process.

Before anyone could raise further objections, several bright lights flashed in the darkness surrounding you. Seemingly materialising out of nowhere, you found yourselves encircled by several large Balmera.

“What’s going on?” queried Lance, voicing the question on everyone’s lips.

Coran’s voice was awestruck. “It’s a convuldrum. A converging of Balmeras.”

“What called them here?” Lance wanted to know.

“Shay,” whispered Hunk, a huge smile on his face. His Balmeran friend had somehow known that Voltron needed them, and had gathered several Balmera to come to your aid.

You watched breathlessly as the Balmera glowed brightly, their inhabitants infusing their Quintessence with that of the Balmera upon which they lived. Enormous crystals rose to the surface of each Balmera, shining with a bright white light. Simultaneously, the crystals sent out rays of Quintessence towards both Voltron and the Atlas, causing everyone to feel a surge of energy as they were hit. Surely you would be overloaded with Quintessence and go mad, just as Lotor had in the Quintessence field.

However, what happened was an event that no one had foreseen.

Voltron and the Atlas merged, becoming one entity just as Honerva’s mech had fused with Lotor’s Sincline-mech. Both would now be able to enter the rift. You gazed at the Quintessence surrounding you, feeling more energised than you ever had before.

“I don’t know what just happened,” said Allura. “But now we have a chance.”

“Let’s stop Honerva!” Keith declared.

“Coran, we’ll need you to secure the area and find a way to suppress this rift,” Shiro ordered. As Coran confirmed the orders, Shiro gave a yell, pushing the Atlas’s thrusters forward. Each Paladin did likewise in their Lions, and Voltron-Atlas flew towards the rift.

**************************************

On the other side of the rift, you could hardly believe what you were seeing. Below, it appeared that Altean and Galran designs had been combined, forming a distorted landscape that somehow merged both cultures whilst keeping them obviously separate.

“Is this…” Allura whispered.

“It’s an alternate Altea,” you said softly.

Lance’s voice was concerned. “And it looks like this reality is crumbling, just like ours.”

“How come it’s disintegrating so quickly?” Hunk asked.

Pidge studied her scans. “Those wings created a sort of cosmic tunnel in one blast. The rift must lead directly to the reality Honerva’s been looking for.”

“And any reality that those wings tore through is falling apart,” added Shiro.

Keith pushed the thrusters forward again. “We have to keep going!”

Voltron-Atlas once more entered the rift, hoping to stop Honerva before it was too late.

**************************************

The team watched helplessly as reality after reality collapsed before your eyes.

“All those innocent lives,” you whispered sadly, your empathy for others once more causing your heart to clench. “There’s no limit to what Honerva will do, or the lives she’ll tear apart to get what she wants.”

“That’s why we need to stop her,” Shiro replied.

As Voltron-Atlas flew again towards the rift hole, Allura spoke. “Even then, I fear she’s started a chain reaction that can never be undone.”

**************************************

As you entered the next reality, Voltron-Atlas was hit by a large object. It was one of the wing blades of Honerva’s mech. She had lain in wait for you.

“Counter measures!” yelled Keith, as he battled to keep the mech upright against Honerva’s onslaught.

Honerva trapped Voltron-Atlas in yet another of those accursed lightning orbs, flinging you to the ground with a vicious snap of her mech’s hand. As another orb was hurled towards you, Keith called, “Form sword!”

The blade that Voltron-Atlas created was different to what you had seen before. It was larger and broader, similar to a gigantic Altean broadsword, and it glowed brightly with Quintessence. The sword batted the orb away as if it was a baseball, sending it hurtling back towards Honerva. The mech skipped out of the way, and the orb hit the large archway behind it, sending the structure collapsing to the ground.

Honerva gave a screech of fury, sending numerous rounds of laser fire towards you. Voltron-Atlas skipped out of the way before firing return blasts from its twin chest cannons. Honerva’s mech lashed out with its whip-like tail, striking you to the ground. Trapping you with the wing blades, she summoned yet another lightning orb, using it to drain the Quintessence from you.

“This is where it ends for you!” snarled the witch, as the purple lightning drained your energy.

You lay watching helplessly as she once more entered the rift. Voltron-Atlas lifted its head, before dropping back, depleted of Quintessence, as reality collapsed around you.

Lance sounded more vicious than you had ever heard him. “We need… to get… up!”

“I can’t move,” moaned Hunk wearily.

Shiro groaned in frustration. “The ship’s not responding.”

“Honerva,” whispered Allura. “She’s absorbed all our strength.”

“This reality,” said Pidge numbly. “It’s over.”

Silent tears slid down your cheeks. You had failed. Honerva had won, and everyone you loved was now going to pay the ultimate price. Your friends, your parents, the Paladins, Keith… everyone you loved was going to be erased from reality because you had failed.

“To the moon and back, Keith,” you said softly, reaching a hand out to touch your life-bonded partner’s shoulder. “I love you to the moon and back.”

At least the two of you were together, here at the end of everything.

For some reason, your overwhelming despair brought out Keith’s protective instinct. He had the desperate, sudden need to save you, and it gave him strength where only a moment ago he had none. Squeezing your hand, he hoped he could rally the rest of them enough to believe you could still win.

“No! We’ve always done the impossible. Our strength is our bond. Our power comes from each other. As long as we’re a team, we stand a chance. Sendak, Zarkon, Lotor… we’ve saved our universe countless times. But now, _all_ the realities are in need of Voltron. So this isn’t the end just yet. We need to get back up, and stop Honerva once and for all!”

His words, his belief, seemed to strike a chord in the others. Slowly, painfully, Voltron-Atlas struggled to its feet. Before the reality you were in collapsed entirely, the Ephemeral Wings emerged, allowing Voltron to fly through the rift in the nick of time.

You threw your arms around Keith’s neck, weeping silently. “I love you, Keith.”

“I love you, too, Y/N. To the moon and back. That’s why I have to save you. To save all of us.” He held your shaking form close to his chest, sending all of his love for you through your life-bond, even as he whispered words of love and comfort to you.

Eventually, your weeping ceased. Wiping your tears away with the back of your hand, you stood up straight, determination colouring your features. “Let’s end this.”

**************************************

Voltron-Atlas flew through the rift tunnel, desperately hoping to catch Honerva before she destroyed every reality.

The tunnel was growing smaller and smaller, as reality after reality disappeared from existence.

Keith’s eyes widened in horror as the rift closed completely.

Voltron-Atlas was swallowed by the nothingness.

**************************************

Honerva watched in disbelief as Voltron-Atlas landed upon the planet’s surface. How had they survived?

This could not be happening. Her own husband and son had rejected her, refusing to believe that she had returned to them from across countless worlds, and now those pathetic Paladins were here. Well, their efforts to stop her would be in vain.

Lotor and Zarkon did not want her. There was no place for her here in this universe. And that meant that there would be no place for anyone, anywhere.

There would be no universe at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it, folks. The penultimate chapter in this entire series. The end is near...


	10. All Good Things Must Come To An End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In order to prevent Honerva from destroying all realities, one of the Paladins must make a heartbreaking sacrifice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter is based on Series 8, Episode 13 – “The End is the Beginning”.

Voltron-Atlas stood facing Honerva’s mech upon the surface of the alternate Altea that she had conjured for herself. She fired, but not upon Voltron. Instead, she fired upon the palace where this reality’s version of her husband and son cowered in fear.

Before anyone could react, the mech launched itself at Voltron-Atlas, wrestling it to the ground.

Keith struggled to bring the defender back to its feet. “We have to take the fight as far away from here as…”

His sentence was cut off with a cry of alarm as Honerva summoned a sharp knife, intent on piercing Voltron-Atlas and once more siphoning its Quintessence. He engaged the thrusters, and flew out of the way of the blade just as she swung it down forcefully.

Voltron landed next to its enormous broadsword, which had been stuck in the ground when you’d landed in this reality. Wielding it, Voltron-Atlas swung time and again at the mech, attacking as well as defending.

The mech’s tail whipped out, yanking one of Voltron’s feet out from under it and causing it to crash to the ground. Before Voltron could get back on its feet, the mech formed its wings into a weapon that reminded you of an enormous drill. It drove the drill into Voltron’s chest, sending purple sparks flying as it attempted to once again siphon away your Quintessence.

Allura gave a furious yell, pushing forward on one of Blue’s levers. Lasers shot from both of Voltron-Atlas’s eyes, pushing the mech backwards and causing the wing blades to fall apart. The mech was driven backward into a nearby cliff, allowing Voltron-Atlas to get to its feet and once more take hold of its broadsword.

Voltron charged towards Honerva, piercing her mech with the sword.

“Now let’s finish this,” snarled Allura, preparing to deal the fatal blow.

“Incoming!” yelled Lance, as one of the wing blades flew towards you. It hit Voltron-Atlas in the back. Two more pierced the sides of Voltron in quick succession, driving the robot to its knees.

The remaining wing blades flew upward, piercing several holes in the reality above you. The blades began to glow, and those embedded in Voltron crackled with lightning which joined with the blades above as a lightning storm began to swirl around you. Quintessence flowed out of Voltron as Honerva’s mech got unsteadily to its feet. She flew towards the rift hole as you could only watch on helplessly.

Shiro groaned with the effort of staying on his feet. “We can’t… let this happen…” he ground out painfully. “She can’t get away!”

Every Paladin shrieked with agony as you attempted to overcome Honerva’s magic. Slowly, Voltron-Atlas pulled one of the wing blades from its side, then the other, and finally managed to dislodge the one in its back. It tossed the blades to the ground, getting back onto its feet.

Yet again, you flew through the rift after Honerva, hoping that you could stop her from erasing every reality that had ever existed.

**************************************

Keith slowly lifted his head, noting that Voltron-Atlas seemed to be floating in yet another fragment of Honerva’s mind. He looked at the giant nerves surrounding you. This part of her mind seemed very different to the one you had entered so recently. It seemed… desolate, somehow.

After first making sure that you were all right, he contacted the others. “Is everyone okay?”

The other Paladins groaned to let him know they were still alive.

Shiro asked, “Does anyone have eyes on Honerva?”

Lance stared at the area surrounding you. “What is this place?”

“I-I’m not sure,” Allura said uncertainly.

“This is the beginning.” All of you looked around in panic when you heard Honerva’s voice. Her mech flew seemingly out of nowhere, punching Voltron-Atlas with its full force. “And the end.”

She aimed a lightning orb at one of the nerves, severing it and causing an explosion which followed the chain back to the central source. The centre exploded as that reality was erased from existence.

“Can you all feel that?” asked Allura, as memories and images washed over all of you. “These strands are…”

“The only remaining realities left in existence,” Lance gasped.

Pidge’s eyes widened in realisation. “This place is the source. Of time, of space, of…”

“Everything,” Hunk finished her sentence.

Honerva’s shrill cry reverberated through your skulls. “I will end this once and for all!”

She fired several more orbs at the reality strands, her madness causing her to lash out at everything that she perceived was the cause of her pain.

“She’s destroying all realities!” you panted, as Voltron-Atlas attempted to find a way to stop Honerva’s onslaught. Every time you drove towards her, the destruction of one of the realities pushed you back.

Honerva continued wreaking havoc, destroying reality after reality, until finally only one strand of reality remained. She flew toward it, her end goal in sight.

Keith’s mind was numb at the horror he had just witnessed, and the devastation that he had failed to stop. “She’s destroyed everything. There’s only one reality left.”

“No. Please…” Allura pleaded desperately, hoping that Honerva could see reason before it was too late.

Just as Honerva was about to sever the final remaining reality with her mech’s sword, Voltron-Atlas pushed her away with its own sword. She flew at the strand again, and once more Voltron blocked her path.

Pidge pushed a lever, and Voltron-Atlas’s left arm grew long claws which she used to pierce Honerva’s mech and hold it in place. As Honerva tried to push herself away, Keith engaged the thrusters, forcing both mechs away from the reality strand. Honerva’s mech used its tail to pierce Voltron, and began pushing back towards the strand.

“If Honerva destroys this final strand, all of existence will end with it!” Allura cried.

As one, every Paladin pushed their thrusters forward, combining all of your strength in one last ditch attempt to save reality.

The Ephemeral Wings, which Keith had summoned previously, grew exponentially with the additional power of every Paladin, dwarfing Honerva’s mech. They were now about one hundred times larger than usual, and you felt your connection to each Paladin – and to Shiro – grow as well. Together, your souls combined with that of Voltron-Atlas, and you carried Honerva’s mech into the centre of the last remaining reality.

**************************************

You found yourselves standing on a starry platform, with Honerva kneeling before you. She turned to glare at all of you. “Where are we?”

“The connected consciousness of all existence,” Allura replied solemnly.

Honerva scoffed. “You think you’re safe here? Soon, all will cease to exist.”

“You have to stop this,” Hunk said. “All these worlds, all these realities, they deserve to live.”

Honerva remained on her knees. “Those realities are flawed and weak, living out the same pathetic cycle of war and pain.”

Allura stepped toward her. “There is beauty in their flaws. I lost my mother, my father, my _planet_ to this war. But I’ve gained a new family, and a purpose stronger than any I could have imagined.”

“Humans began very flawed,” said Pidge. “There were wars, hate… but with each mistake, they learned and grew.”

“And now we reach out to other worlds,” Shiro continued. “To pass on those same lessons, and spread them across the entire universe. Like your people once did.”

“And with every new world touched, the message grows,” you added.

Keith’s voice was soft. “Every world, every reality. We wouldn’t exist without the others.”

“Our differences are what make us stronger,” Lance concluded.

Honerva glared balefully at all of you. “You think your words mean anything to me? I’ve lived multiple lifetimes, and all of them filled with pain and loss. If _I_ cannot experience the simple joys of life, why should anyone else?”

You shook your head. How could anyone be so selfish? To deny all of existence the right to life, simply because she could find no joy in her own. Honerva’s madness seemed too far gone.

Wordlessly, Allura placed her hands on Honerva’s temples, speaking softly as she brought the woman’s memories to the surface. “There was a time when you loved more than just your family. A time when your fascination with how vast the universe is gave way to your desire to help and uplift others.”

When Allura removed her hands, Honerva’s Galra markings disappeared, leaving only her original Altean marks. Whatever had infected her in the Quintessence field all those eons ago seemed to have been driven out by Allura’s magic.

She seemed awed by what Allura had done, watching the princess’s interactions with her son. When she spoke, her voice had softened. “You tried to help him. He was happy. He deserved better. Better than I could give.”

“Lotor may have been misguided,” the princess said. “But ultimately, he wanted to preserve life. Honour your son. Help me change this.”

A tear fell from Honerva’s eyes, hitting the ground and glittering in the starlight. “I’m sorry, but the damage is done. There’s nothing left to save.”

Allura looked away briefly, before once more gazing at Honerva. “I can change the Quintessence within your vessel. Your son helped me learn how to transform it from a destructive force into a life-giving force. But I cannot do it alone.”

She held out a hand to Honerva, who glanced at it in surprise. “But… that would require…”

“I know the risks.”

Honerva clasped Allura’s hand, allowing the princess to pull her to her feet. Allura turned to look sadly back at all of you. “I’m afraid this is where we part ways.”

You let out a gasp as you realised the enormity of Allura’s words. “Allura, no…”

“Wait, what?” asked Hunk in confusion.

“Allura…” Keith began. Shiro and Pidge just stared at her numbly.

Lance stared at her uncomprehendingly. “What?”

The princess walked slowly back to all of you. “This is our only chance to undo what has been done. To save _all_ of existence. I have to take it. It is my purpose. Your paths go on. Mine ends here.”

“But there is no Voltron without you,” mumbled Hunk, his normally cheerful voice expressionless.

She smiled at him as she laid a gentle hand on his cheek. “Voltron isn’t needed any more. The rest of the work is up to the people. And they’ll have you to guide them, Hunk.”

The Yellow Paladin broke down as she embraced him, letting the tears fall as he said goodbye to his friend.

“Goodbye Pidge,” Allura said, smiling down at the tiny girl.

“I’m gonna miss you, Allura,” Pidge sniffed.

Allura bent down to hug her. “Remain curious, and fearless.”

Pidge clutched Hunk as she sobbed, while the Yellow Paladin gave her what little comfort he could.

“Most of them won’t know the sacrifice you’ve made so they could live,” Shiro said sadly, his dark eyes filled with tears.

“And they’ll never need to. Your selflessness taught me that. Thank you.”

Shiro held her tightly, not caring that for the first time, she saw his weakness as the tears fell. “You never have to thank me for anything.”

The princess turned to the Red Paladin. “Keith, I cannot thank you enough for all you’ve given me.”

Keith’s expression was heartbroken. “Allura, when you accepted me, it helped me to accept myself. Thank you.”

She hugged him gently. “There is greatness in your heart, and in your actions.”

Tears filled your eyes as Allura moved towards you. You shook your head, not willing to accept her last words to you. She stood in front of you, a sad smile on her lovely face.

‘Y/N, your belief in me – in _all_ of the Paladins – is what gave me the strength to lead all of you to this point. You motivated all of us to be the best versions of ourselves. You have loved all of us unconditionally, and for that, I thank you. I have cherished your friendship more than just about anything.”

She pulled you close, and you sobbed unashamedly as she held you. “I will never forget you, Allura,” you hiccupped through your sobs. “I love you like a sister, and I will cherish your memory always.”

“Take care of Lance for me,” she whispered, so that only you could hear her words.

Your heart broke more than you thought possible. “I promise.”

You collapsed against Keith, who held you close as you buried your face in his chest, not wanting to watch her say farewell to your best friend.

Allura held Lance’s hands in hers. Lance shook his head in denial. “No, Allura. There… there has to be another way…”

“There is no other way,” she whispered. “This is all we have.”

“But you’re too important to the cause,” he choked. He rested his forehead against hers. “You’re too important to me.”

“I’ll always be with you, Lance,” Allura promised, as she finally allowed her own tears to fall. “And I’ll always love you.”

She kissed him tenderly, and when she finally untangled herself from his embrace, you noticed that his cheeks bore Altean markings. One final gift from the princess to the man she loved.

Allura joined Honerva, and both of them glanced into the distance. There, appearing before them, stood the Paladins of old, including Alfor and Zarkon, as well as Prince Lotor.

Without a backward glance, both women walked resolutely towards their fate.

As they disappeared, so did everything else.

**************************************

A blinding flash of light brought you back to the present. Voltron-Atlas was still entangled with Honerva’s mech.

Suddenly, the mech disappeared in a flash, and every strand of reality began to reappear.

Another flash, and the Lions were once more drifting in space, separated from the Atlas and each other by the ensuing blast.

Keith lifted his head, blinking in confusion. “Is this… are we…?”

Pidge checked her scanners. “Yeah, it’s our reality,” she confirmed.

Lance’s voice broke your heart. “She did it. She saved us all.”

Hunk’s face popped up on your vid-screens. “I don’t remember that planet being there before.”

You looked out of the cockpit window. “It’s Altea!”

It seemed that Allura had given her people one final gift – their own homeworld, once again alive.

**************************************

_One year later…_

Keith stood on the steps of the Kral Zera, flanked by yourself, Kolivan and Krolia. His voice rang out as he addressed the Galra assembled below.

“With the return of planet Daibazaal, the Galra is at a crossroads. For too long, the people of this extraordinary civilisation have been manipulated by a dictatorship that placed a misguided sense of self-preservation above all else. It was a tragic, unfortunate series of events that led us down this dark, neverending path of power and greed. But now we, the citizens of the Galra Empire, have an opportunity to make right all of the injustices set into motion by our forefathers. Because of the sacrifice of Princess Allura, we have been given a second chance. To come together in rebuilding the Galra Empire, by joining the Galactic Coalition and ushering in a new era of peace across the universe!”

The crowd cheered wildly at his words. The most enthusiastic of these were led by Acxa, Zethrid and Ezor, the latter two now firmly convinced that Keith was the best thing to ever happen to the Galra Empire.

You grasped his hand as he stared out over the crowd. Smiling brightly as you spoke without moving your lips – a feat which never failed to impress Keith - you whispered, “Are you _sure_ you don’t want to be the one in charge? You’ve really got the whole motivation thing going for you. Plus, this crowd is absolutely _loving_ you right now.”

“I’m going to have my hands full with the recovery effort,” he whispered back. “Besides, if I _was_ ever made the leader of the Galra Empire, then that would mean you’d be my Second-In-Command, and I don’t want to let that kind of power go to your head.”

“Spoil sport,” you pouted, as he grinned at you.

One day.

One day, he would be ready to lead the Galra Empire, and he would make sure that you were right there beside him every step of the way.

**************************************

“Your armies have attacked us at every turn!” snarled one of the aliens assembled at the peace talks aboard the Atlas.

“If you had just agreed to our terms, the attacks would not be necessary,” protested another.

The first alien slammed its stubby fists on the table. “You are occupying a peaceful settlement!”

The second, a wolf-headed creature, snapped back. “Our people were starving!”

Hunk cleared his throat. “Chancellors! Please, sit. Dinner is served.”

Abashed, both Chancellors took their seats as Hunk placed their dishes on the table. Shiro smiled gratefully at Hunk, who presented the meal before them with a flourish.

“The filet of bandreal, spiced with seasonings from the plains of Planet Mabo, alongside pilaf of long-grain forlongian brill from the vast fields of Antidol. And it is accompanied by a cider made from the petals of the Altean juniberry flower. _Bon appetit._ ”

As the assembled Chancellors sampled the meal, they all gasped with delight, complimenting Hunk on the delicious meal he had so lovingly prepared. He blushed at their praise.

“It wouldn’t be possible without the cooperation of all three planets of the Xereetu System. Much like my cooking crew, comprised of aliens from all across the cosmos working together to bring you this delicious meal,” he said with a wave of his hand. Shay, Romelle and several others smiled at the delegates.

Hunk turned back to the guests. “Princess Allura, the very person we celebrate on this day once said, _‘We are always stronger together’_. If the people of your planets work together, so much more can be achieved.”

Shiro stood. “Honour her by following in her footsteps, and walking the path towards peace.”

The guests raised their glasses in a toast to peace. Perhaps it might be possible after all.

**************************************

Lance stood in front of Allura’s statue on Altea, speaking to the children sitting on the ground, listening avidly to his tale. “And had Allura not seen that there was still good in Honerva, we most likely would not be sitting here today. She grew to understand that there is good in everyone.”

A Balmera child raised her hand. “Even Emperor Zarkon?”

“Yes,” he chuckled. “Even Emperor Zarkon.”

Another child asked innocently, “Do you miss her?”

“I do, very much,” he replied honestly. His gaze wandered over the field of juniberries swaying in the breeze. “But I’m reminded of her everywhere I look. So in that way, she’s still very much with me. With all of us, actually.”

“Now that you no longer pilot the Red Lion, what do you do?” another child piped up.

Lance placed his hands on his hips. “Well, I help run a small farm back on my home planet with my family. It’s a simple life, just the way I like it.”

“All right, everybody, I think Paladin Lance has someplace to be in a few doboshes,” announced the teacher, as she came to relieve Lance of his small charges. “And you all have class to get back to.”

A loud chorus of disappointed “Awwwwws” made Lance chuckle again.

He looked up as a wormhole opened in the skies above, and he grinned as the Green Lion flew through it.

It was time.

**************************************

Everyone laughed as they ate and drank, the first time all of you had been together in many months. The table had been set up beneath Allura’s statue, and held an assortment of delicacies from all over the universe. The anniversary of the day Princess Allura had saved all of reality was bittersweet.

“I mean, seriously though, Earth has come a long way,” said Pidge. “It’s a hub for all alien activity now that my dad’s stabilised his teludav technology.”

Shiro smiled. “Well, that will make travel on the Atlas much easier. We’ll be able to reach so many more sectors with the improved mobility, not to mention the supplies we’ll save with the shorter journey.”

Hunk paused with his fork halfway to his mouth. “Yeah! We’ll have so much more room for the cooking ingredients. People are just so much easier to reason with when they’re full. Man, this diplomacy thing is not as easy as Allura made it look.”

“Right?” Keith agreed with a laugh. “But then, she _did_ make everything look easy.”

Shiro gazed at Keith. “Speaking of which, how are things going on Daibazaal?”

“We’re calling for an election to select a Galran representative for the Galactic Coalition,” Keith replied. “So that’s a step in the right direction.”

“Let me guess. They asked you to be their leader and you said no,” Lance deadpanned.

“Yeah, pretty much,” Keith admitted.

“Classic Keith,” Lance muttered.

“Yeah, unfortunately, despite my best efforts, I still haven’t been able to convince him that ‘Emperor Keith’ had a really nice ring to it,” you sighed despondently.

Keith snorted. “You just want _me_ to be the Emperor in order for _you_ to be crowned ‘Empress Y/N’ so that you can make Acxa bow down before you and do your bidding.”

“You say that as if it’s a bad thing,” you sulked.

“ _Empress Y/N?_ Is there something you guys aren’t telling us?” Lance demanded. Hunk and Pidge also looked at you suspiciously, staring at your ring finger to see if anything sparkly had materialised without them noticing.

You rolled your eyes. “No, Lance, Keith still has not asked me to marry him. Apparently being life-bonded means that he thinks he has an excuse to never actually make an honest woman out of me.”

Another snort. “As if I could ever… OW!”

Your life-bonded partner grinned at you, rubbing the back of his head while you glared at him. He grabbed your hand and laced his fingers with yours, pressing a kiss to the back of your hand as he gazed at you adoringly. The others grinned at each other. Keith’s love for you was obvious to everyone, even without a formal declaration.

“Besides,” you said loftily, “Even if Keith _did_ become the new leader of the Galra Empire, we all know who would _really_ be in charge.”  
  
Everyone looked at each other, and in unison agreed, “Krolia.”

Coran looked solemnly at your former leader. “Allura would be proud of your decision, Keith. I think she knew that you would always be the key to the Galra’s future. Just around this table, I see so many lives touched by her actions. For some of us she was a diplomat, a teacher, a leader and a friend. But to those of us around this table, she will always be… family.”

The Altean got to his feet, raising his glass in the air. “To Allura!”

The rest of you joined him in the toast. “To Allura!”

**************************************

Something dragged you from your sleep. You slowly blinked, trying to figure out what had awoken you. Keith lay sprawled on the bed next to you, black hair even messier than usual, snoring softly, but that was not what had awoken you.

A soft growl came from outside, and you sat upright. Looking out the window of the bedroom that Coran had set aside for you in the palace, you noticed the Black Lion’s eyes glowing softly.

Turning to Keith, you shook his shoulder. “Keith. _Keith!_ ”

He opened one eye blearily. “Babe, it’s the middle of the night. Go back to sleep.”

You shook him again. “Keith, wake up. Something’s going on with the Black Lion.”

He was instantly alert, pulling on a shirt even as he jumped out of bed. “What is it? What’s going on?”

“I don’t know, but I think it might be important,” you answered, pulling on a pair of shoes.

The two of you ran out of the palace, not caring that you were in your pyjamas. The other Paladins and Shiro had obviously heard the noise as well, because they joined you in the moonlit courtyard.

The five Lions of Voltron sat patiently, awaiting your arrival. As you gazed up at them, each Lion roared softly at their Paladin.

“They’re saying goodbye,” you realised. The Black Lion bowed its head to you, Keith and Shiro in farewell, as tears welled in your eyes.

With a final roar, the Lions flew in formation, disappearing into the night sky above Altea.

You would not be seeing them again.

**************************************

In the months that followed, your lives changed in ways that you could never have imagined from that first day you all flew off to the far reaches of the universe in the Blue Lion.

Pidge and her family established the next generation of Legendary Defenders; Hunk created a culinary empire, bringing the universe together, one meal at a time; Lance continued to spread Allura’s message while surrounding himself with the things he loved; Kolivan and Krolia became the Galra representatives of the Galactic Coalition; and you and Keith helped to transition the Blade of Marmora into a humanitarian relief organisation.

It was while on one of your relief missions that Acxa found you. She waited until you finished providing an alien family with food and bedding to help them settle into the refugee camp before speaking. “Y/N, there’s a communication for you from Earth. A document of some sort. It’s addressed to you and Keith, so I assume it’s of some importance.”

“Thank you, Acxa.” You smiled at the pretty Galra as you took the cream-coloured envelope from her. Despite the close friendship that had developed between the two of you, she never failed to speak in a far more formal manner than you thought was necessary. You had tried unsuccessfully to get her to be more relaxed, but some habits are hard to break.

You went in search of your wayward partner, finding him tinkering with his hoverbike. He’d managed to salvage enough parts to make himself a new one, spending most of his spare time on it. He looked up when he heard your footsteps, and stood, greeting you with a smile. He wiped his dirty hands on a rag before grabbing you and giving you a kiss. “Hey, beautiful. What brings you here?”

You waved the envelope in front of him. “We have a letter from Earth.”

He frowned. “A letter? Who even sends those anymore?”

With a shrug, you handed it to him. “I thought we could open it together. It looks important.”

Keith cleared a spot on his workbench and the two of you sat side by side. He tore open the envelope and pulled out a piece of parchment. His eyes widened as he stared at the contents. “What is this?”

“YES!” you pumped your fist as you stared at the wedding invitation. “I _knew_ it. Griffin owes me a hundred bucks.”

“Y/N, what on Earth are you talking about? Why would Griffin owe you money?” Keith asked in confusion.

“Because we had a bet on how long it would take for Shiro and Curtis to get hitched. I said within a year, and he said three. It’s been less than twelve months, so I win.”

Keith blinked. “Wait, how did you know that Shiro was going to get married? I didn’t even know he was seeing anyone.”

You grinned. “Oh, Keith. You are still so adorably clueless. Anyone with eyes could see that he and Curtis were mad about each other from the moment they met.”

“Really?” Keith still seemed perplexed. “I had no idea.”

You kissed his cheek. “That’s because you are incredibly unobservant. You didn’t know Pidge was a girl until she ‘fessed up; you didn’t realise you were part-Galra until the Blades told you so; you were convinced I hated you…”

“To be fair, you _did_ give everyone the distinct impression that you hated me,” Keith said, shoving you playfully. “So I assume we’re going to accept the invitation?”

“Well, of course we are. We can’t seriously not be there for Shiro on his big day. If anyone deserves a happy ending, it is that man.”

“All right,” agreed Keith. “Let me get cleaned up, and we’ll contact him tonight to let him know we’ll be there.”

**************************************

The day of Shiro’s wedding was beautiful, as all weddings should be. The ceremony was held at sunset, on the beach near the Garrison.

As per Shiro’s request, everyone was dressed in white. Coran looked resplendent in traditional Altean ceremonial robes. Lance and Hunk had contacted all of you, and it had been agreed that you would all incorporate your Paladin colours into your outfits. The boys and Pidge all wore matching tuxes, much to Mrs Holt’s dismay - she had really hoped to finally get her daughter into a dress – and their bow ties were in their Paladin colours. Keith’s hair tie was also red; you had finally convinced him to wear his shaggy locks in a ponytail, and it confirmed your suspicions that he would look even sexier than usual.

You had tied a grey silk ribbon around the waist of your white cocktail dress, and grey silk flowers adorned your hair. Keith thought you had never looked more lovely. James Griffin and Matt Holt both gave sighs of envy when they saw you with him.

As Shiro and Curtis were finally pronounced married, all of you cheered wildly as they kissed. Coran and Hunk both wept unashamedly, and even Keith’s eyes were suspiciously moist, a fact he vehemently denied whenever you brought it up. Lance cheered so loudly that he lost his voice for the next three days.

The reception was fun and chaotic, as you would expect whenever the Paladins and Garrison crew got together. You danced with everyone, especially Lance, and even managed to prise Shiro out of his husband’s arms for one dance so that you could congratulate him.

But you were happiest whenever you were in the arms of your beloved Keith.

**************************************

It was as the two of you were back in your apartment at the Garrison, getting ready for bed after the wedding, that the biggest surprise of the night occurred. You were already tucked up in bed, but for some reason Keith was fidgety. He was going to wear a hole in the carpet from his relentless pacing if he didn’t stop soon.

“Keith, for goodness sake, come to bed,” you pleaded, batting your eyelashes at him. If that didn’t work, you were prepared to throw in a pout as well. He never could resist that.

“You know, Y/N, I’ve been thinking,” he said, as if you hadn’t spoken. “After what happened with Allura, I realised just how important it is to make every moment with the people you love count. I really want you to know that I cherish every second of the time that I have with you.”

“Well, I feel the same way, Keith,” you replied, wondering where he was going with this conversation.

He sat down on the edge of the bed, grabbing one of your hands. “I always thought that it didn’t matter if we never got married. I mean, we’re life-bonded, so it’s not like we aren’t already committed to each other for the rest of our lives. Really, it didn’t seem like it’s necessary.”

“Okay…”

Those gorgeous violet-grey eyes that you loved so much seemed to stare into your very soul. “But after today, after seeing how happy Shiro was, I realised that it’s just as important to make a declaration of my love for you. I want the whole world to know just how much you mean to me.”

He pulled a small box out of his pocket. “I spoke to your parents a while ago. They’ve already given us their blessing.”

You stared at him, your brain short-circuiting. You couldn’t actually make sense of what Keith was saying to you. “What?”

“Y/N, I love you to the moon and back. You already know this. But I want everybody else to know it, too. I know we’re still young; I mean you’ve only just turned twenty-one and I’m not really that much older than that, so it’s not like we don’t have time to do this. We don’t have to do it straight away. But I do want to marry you.”

He opened the box, and a gorgeous ring winked in the light. It was the loveliest thing you’d ever seen – two heart-shaped gems, one black and the other red, with a small diamond nestled between them.

“This ring represents both of our Lions, and the two of us. We’ve always been two hearts connected as one; we shared our Lions as well as our souls. This ring represents our lives together; past, present and hopefully the future.”

When you continued to stare at him with your mouth open and no sound coming out, Keith gave a sigh of mock exasperation and got down on one knee. “Y/N, will you marry me?”

You launched yourself out of the bed with a shriek and the two of you toppled to the floor as you crashed your lips against Keith’s. That was all the answer he needed. He knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you would follow him to the moon and back if he asked.

And he would do the same for you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is it, folks. The final instalment of what has been an amazing journey. Sorry it took so long for me to post this; I've been reluctant to say goodbye to this story, and to all of you lovely people. I just want to thank those of you who gave kudos or left lovely comments on this work. I've really enjoyed sharing it with all of you.
> 
> If you want to check out some of my other fics, I've done a lot with the Avengers which is my other favourite fandom. I'm also working on a Voltron/Avengers crossover, so hopefully I can get that one finished and up one of these days.
> 
> Again, thanks for all of your comments and well wishes, and I hope all of you stay safe and happy.


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